McLaren revealed the car for its return to the top tier of endurance racing in 2026 in the Hypercar class ahead of the start of the Le Mans 24 Hours on Saturday.
The specifics, many of which had already been reported on The Race earlier this year, were officially communicated on Friday at a press conference.
Chassis and engine
McLaren has opted for a car that complies with the LMDHh technical regulations - rather than a bespoke Hypercar.
Of the four eligible chassis, the decision was made to go with the one designed by Dallara - which is the same as the one used for the Cadillac V-Series.R and the BMW M Hybrid V8.
For McLaren, this chassis will be powered by a twin-turbo V6 engine designed by McLaren Technology and McLaren Automotive, which is expected to be derived from the Artura supercar.
The operation
In terms of the racing team entrusted with carrying out the programme, there was always little doubt - even though the entity has changed its name.
McLaren has picked sportscar stalwart United Autosports, co-owned by Richard Dean and Zak Brown, McLaren Racing CEO. The team will be officially called McLaren United AS.
It would also have been naive to believe that the entry of the McLaren 720S in LMGT3 since last year with United Autorsports did not conceal something more ambitious - but it's not difficult to justify the selection of United Autosports even beyond its existing links with McLaren. After all, of all the major teams that had previously been in LMP2, United Autosports was the last one that had not yet had its chance in the top class.
It is a wrong that is about to be righted, because the team's statistics speak for themselves. Since entering LMP2 in 2017, United Autosports has not just won the Le Mans 24 Hours twice (2020 and 2024), but also clinched a European Le Mans Series title (2020) and a WEC title (2020), not to mention its Asian Le Mans Series titles, the Daytona 24 Hours win last January and its many LMP3 crowns. Without a doubt, it's a case of things coming full circle.
A team principal from Jaguar
What about the team director? That will be James Barclay - who joins as team principal in September, switching over from his most recent role as Jaguar motorsport chief and specifically team principal of Jaguar TCS Racing in Formula E. Barclay will join the McLaren Racing Executive Leadership team and report to CEO Brown.
"James' leadership will be crucial in guiding us through the coming months as we prepare for our 2027 entry," Brown said.
‘We have a rich history in the sport. And with James at the helm, we are confident that McLaren Endurance Racing will quickly establish itself as a competitive and successful team."
Why Barclay?
Despite the vast differences between Formula E and endurance racing, there are surprisingly many parallels between them from an off-track standpoint, notably the levels of intensity of manufacturer application, commercial sustainability (cost cap in financial regulations) and even many personnel being involved in both FIA world championships.
Barclay's decade-long lead role in Jaguar's return to global competition in Formula E has featured a cascade of challenges and inevitably a rollercoaster of ups and downs, as every manufacturer experiences.
However, it should not be underestimated how difficult it was back in 2016 to form a winning force in Formula E, especially as the likes of Audi, Renault and DS had such a head start at that stage via customer entities ABT, e.dams and Virgin Racing respectively.
Jaguar, under Barclay's guidance, was quite clever in several aspects of how it structured itself from the outset. Bringing in Williams Advanced Engineering in 2016 before it had even started was generally positive, as was utilising the experience and savvy of Craig Wilson and Gary Ekerold, two key figures within that organisation.
Barclay has fronted a start-up team that as of now from 2016 has secured 18 wins, 47 podiums and 12 pole positions, as well as the 2024 teams' and manufacturers' crowns.
Barclay personally appears, from the outside anyway, to have been adept at getting and keeping Jaguar Land Rover on-side through some tumultuous times across the pandemic but also during that first tough season in 2016-17 when anything approaching a top result was always going to be difficult.
“I am honoured to be joining a brand with such an incredible history of racing excellence," said Barclay.
"The passion and commitment to success that McLaren Racing embodies is something I’ve always admired. I look forward to the challenge of building a team that competes at the highest level of racing and represents the pioneering spirit that McLaren is known for.”
Barclay has often communicated how much he loves Le Mans in particular but also endurance racing in general. He got a taste of success 22 years ago when he was part of the Bentley programme, also in a PR role.
He is also a keen racer himself, having competed in Lotus karts and also shared historic Jaguars with current Le Mans LMP2 racer and Jaguar test and sim driver Tom Dillmann.
Partly through his friendship with fellow Formula E team principal Ian James, Barclay has seized a new opportunity with McLaren for its entry into the Hypercar category in 2027. Based on his work in Formula E, he should be a very strong asset indeed to help lead McLaren on a quest to add another Le Mans win to its legendary victory 30 years ago.
