53-632: The Aston Martin AMR-One was a Le Mans Prototype sports car built by Prodrive 's Aston Martin Racing arm. The car was a successor to the Aston Martin DBR1-2 . To meet the new regulations brought in by the ACO for endurance racing, the AMR-One is powered by a downsized, 2.0-litre turbocharged straight six petrol engine and features a blade-fin behind the cockpit. The AMR-One is built around
106-648: A 3 million euro ($ 3.4 million US) cost cap on the supply of ERS systems from manufacturers to customer teams was announced, while it was also announced that an ERS manufacturer would be prohibited from supplying a system to more than three competitors without the formal approval of the FIA. The minimum weight of the new-generation cars will be raised from the initially-stated 980 kg (2,160 lb) to 1,040 kg (2,290 lb), with maximum length being 5,000 mm (200 in), while maximum cockpit width would also increase to 2,000 mm (79 in). On 7 March 2019, it
159-434: A 4.2-litre naturally-aspirated V8. In seasons 2017 through 2020, the engine produced about 600 bhp . Dallara , Onroak Automotive (Ligier), Oreca and the joint-venture Riley Tech / Multimatic were selected by FIA as the four exclusive chassis constructors, which must be closed-cockpit designs. Before the start of the 2021 season LMP2 cars have been slowed down to ensure the necessary lap time difference between
212-446: A controlled weight distribution, alongside a defined maximum fuel flow, with controlled efficiency and other regulations to control developmental costs. Hybrid systems would feature an electric motor mounted on the front axle with a fixed performance of 200 kW (270 hp), giving the cars a four-wheel drive layout, while the engine's maximum performance target would be set at 520 kW (700 hp). Each car would have two seats,
265-426: A larger cockpit than current LMP1 cars, a wider windscreen, and a roofline more consistent with road cars. Manufacturers would be required to make their hybrid systems available for privateer teams to lease at a cost cap, while any manufacturer or company would be able to design and build its own hybrid system, which would undergo homologation by the FIA and ACO. The cars would also be slower than their predecessors, with
318-468: A level of commonality between Europe and America not seen in top-level sportscar racing for several decades. The frontal surface area of the car may not be below 1.6 m , while "as viewed from above, from the side, and from the front, the bodywork must not allow mechanical components to be seen, unless explicitly authorised by the present regulations, or if respecting the original car design." Movable aerodynamic elements are prohibited. Engine design
371-420: A light carbon fibre monocoque chassis with open top bodywork, in contrast to the closed cockpits of the contemporary Peugeot 908 and Audi R18 . The car has a very high belt-line, broad shapes and few surface breaks. The front of the car is designed to develop minimal downforce and to force as much air into the ducts. The air then moves through the car instead of over the top. There are numerous ducts inside
424-482: A single open-cockpit class of World Sports Cars equivalent to LMP1. This formula continued up to 1996, with many manufacturers embracing the LMP and WSC classes, including Ferrari , Porsche , and Mazda . In 1997, the first European series based around Le Mans Prototypes was launched, known as the " International Sports Racing Series ". Using classes similar to LMP1/WSC and LMP2, these cars were known as "SR1" and "SR2" by
477-406: A target lap time of 3:20. On 25 July 2018, Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus became the first manufacturer to officially indicate its participation in the new rules, with the manufacturer releasing images of a prototype that it planned to race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The manufacturer would offer a limited run of 25 road-legal versions and one race version to fund its Le Mans program. By the end of
530-532: A total maximum power output of 785 hp (585 kW) drawn from the combustion and electric hybrid system, with the electric component restricted to a maximum output of 200kW. There was speculation in the press about 950hp figures, obtained by just adding up the ICE and electric power output. In reality, power units were always expected to follow a prescribed combined power curve, with a peak of 585kW at 95% of engine speed. In addition, diesel power would be banned, with
583-585: A track, the LMP1s were the fastest closed-wheel racing cars used in circuit racing. Le Mans Prototypes are considered a class above production-based grand tourer cars, which compete alongside them in sports car racing . Later, LMP1 designs included hybrid cars that use electric motors to assist acceleration. The Le Mans Prototype LMP1 class has been replaced by Le Mans Hypercars in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and in
SECTION 10
#1732797579494636-407: Is free, with only four-stroke petrol engines being permitted for use. For production-based engines, the block and head castings must come from the base engine (but can be slightly altered via machining or addition of material), and the crankshaft may only be a maximum of 10% lighter, while valve angles, number of camshafts , and location of camshafts must also remain as they are fitted on
689-652: Is named differently in the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship (Hypercar and Grand Touring Prototype (GTP), respectively). This convergence allows the Le Mans Hypercars to compete in the IMSA SportsCar Championship in tandem with its sister LMDh cars, starting from 2023. This effectively allowed LMH and LMDh cars to race in both North American and world championships together,
742-608: The 24 Hours of Le Mans , FIA World Endurance Championship , IMSA SportsCar Championship , European Le Mans Series , and Asian Le Mans Series . Le Mans Prototypes were created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The technical requirements for an LMP include bodywork covering all mechanical elements of the car. As of 2023, there are two classes within Le Mans Prototypes, designated LMP2 and LMP3 . While not as fast as open-wheel Formula One cars around
795-588: The 24 Hours of Le Mans . At the 6 Hours of Castellet, the new AMR-One qualified 5 seconds behind the Pescarolo. In the race things took a downturn and the AMR-One finished way down the order. Further problems continued as they only completed a handful of laps at the Le Mans Test Day and were far slower than the top running LMP1 cars. The poor testing was followed by their withdrawal from the 1000 km Spa in order to continue private testing for Le Mans. At
848-632: The Rolex Sports Car Series chose to use the FIA's SR1 and SR2 formula instead. 1998 saw a great expansion for the ACO's LMP classes. Following the cancellation of the IMSA GT Championship at the end of 1998, the ACO allowed for the creation of the American Le Mans Series. This series used the same class structure as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, meaning it was the first championship to use the LMP name. At
901-714: The World Sportscar Championship had to offer, older Porsche 962s were allowed entry in Category 3. To further increase the size of the field, small open-cockpit race cars using production road car engines which were raced in small national championships were allowed in Category 4. Later, ACO announced its intentions to completely replace the Group C cars with Le Mans Prototypes . Two classes were created, with LMP1s running large displacement custom-built engines that were usually turbocharged, and LMP2s using
954-822: The 2015–2019 first-generation ruleset were the Ginetta-Juno P3 , Ligier JS P3 , Norma M30 , ADESS-03 , and the Ave-Riley AR-02. The cars were eligible in a number of series, such as the Asian Le Mans Series, the European Le Mans Series, as well as the V de V Endurance Series and the IMSA Prototype Challenge . A number of championships for the class have also been created, such as the FRD LMP3 series and
1007-435: The 2018 year, apart from Glickenhaus, no other manufacturer had committed to the new regulations. Concerns were raised by several manufacturers about the tight timelines involved, which would leave manufacturers intending to commit from the first season of competition, with less than two years to design and build new cars upon gaining company board approval. On 21 October 2018, McLaren announced that it would not participate in
1060-632: The 24 Hours of Le Mans from the 2021 season . Non-hybrid LMP1 cars were eligible to be "grandfathered" for two more seasons and compete alongside the new class for the 2021 to 2022 seasons. Starting from the 2023 season of WEC and IMSA SportsCar Championship, Le Mans Hypercars are joined by Le Mans Daytona h (LMDh) cars. These two kinds of prototypes will form the top class of endurance racing: Hypercar in WEC and Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) in IMSA. Le Mans Prototypes have used various names depending on
1113-558: The 24 Hours of Le Mans, the #009 car retired after only two laps, whilst the #007 car spent four hours in the pit before officially retiring, having driven only four laps. Aston Martin decided to skip the Imola round in favour of developing the car, earning them 3 DNS in 4 races and no points. At the 1,000 km of Silverstone, Aston Martin dropped the AMR-One and replaced them with their older but much faster Lola-Aston Martin B09/60 . Two of
SECTION 20
#17327975794941166-459: The AMR-One and instead focusing once again on their GT program. Racing driver Darren Turner blamed the public development of the AMR-One and its rushed entry as its undoing citing that most teams develop their new cars completely behind closed doors for at least a year before attempting to race with them. Le Mans Prototype A Le Mans Prototype ( LMP ) is a type of sports prototype race car used in various races and championships, including
1219-487: The AMR-One chassis were later sold to other programs. The DeltaWing project utilized an AMR-One chassis for the base of its radical design due to the team not needing to rehomologate a chassis which had already passed safety tests. A second AMR-One chassis was sold to Pescarolo Team for their use in developing the Pescarolo 03 LMP1 chassis. In January 2012, Aston Martin Racing announced they were ceasing development of
1272-818: The British LMP3 Cup. First-generation cars were powered by a 5.0-litre normally-aspirated Nissan VK50 V8 engine , producing 310 kW (420 hp). A 2nd Generation ruleset was introduced for 2020, with new cars introduced: the Ginetta G61-LT-P3 , Ligier JS P320 , Duqueine D-08 , and the ADESS-03 Evo. These cars can be built from its predecessors using an upgrade kit. The new LMP3 prototypes are used in Asian Le Mans Series, Michelin Le Mans Cup , IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge , European Le Mans Series, and Prototype Cup Germany. For
1325-433: The FIA World Endurance Championship were announced at the ACO's annual press conference, with the regulations set to be active for 5 seasons. Numerous aspects of the design for the new class would be kept open, with a free engine architecture and the freedom to run any number of cylinders with the choice of a turbocharged or naturally aspirated design. The cars would have an overall weight of 980 kg (2,160 lb) with
1378-562: The FIA announced it had approved proposed changes to the LMH technical regulations, which would see a decrease in maximum power output from 585 kW (784 hp) to 500 kW (670 hp), and minimum weight of the cars from 1,100 kg (2,400 lb) to 1,030 kg (2,270 lb). In 2021, just a few days after Peugeot revealed their 9X8 Hypercar, the IMSA and the ACO announced that they would converge their respective sports prototype rulesets into one class. This unified prototype class
1431-467: The FIA. 1998 saw the creation of another series of Le Mans Prototypes, with the new United States Road Racing Championship attempting to break away from the IMSA GT Championship. To differ from IMSA'S WSC class, the USRRC named their open-cockpit prototypes " Can-Am " in an attempt to resurrect the sportscar championship of the 1970s. However, the USRRC collapsed before the end of 1999, with the series becoming
1484-731: The Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship from 2023. The Le Mans Hypercar regulations were created jointly by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) as a successor to the Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1) from the 2021 season onwards. Following the successive exits of Audi and Porsche from the FIA World Endurance Championship at
1537-692: The Hypercar category, a single aero kit has been made mandatory across the whole season and is limited to the Le Mans specification in the WEC; the ELMS teams have retained the right to switch between the aero kits. LMP3 is an entry-level prototype class intended for introducing young drivers and new teams to endurance racing before they progress to the higher classes of prototype racing, LMP2 and ultimately Hypercar. LMP3 uses closed-cockpit chassis, which can be built by any licensed constructor. Cars eligible for
1590-540: The LMP regulations, as the ACO once again split the open-cockpit LMP class. The two new classes became known as "LMP900" and "LMP675", with the numbers denoting the minimum weight requirements (in kilograms) for each class. The LMP900s were to be more powerful and faster in top speed, but also heavier and more cumbersome. The LMP675s were to be smaller and more nimble, yet lack the top speed of the larger class. Both classes were intended to be able to compete for overall wins. Audi , Chrysler , Cadillac , and Panoz opted to use
1643-596: The LMP2 and a new class—Hypercar. In the original version of the new ruleset, revealed in November 2020, only the power of the Gibson engine has been reduced—to 560 bhp. Right before the start of the season, the cars were further weakened, by trimming an additional 20 bhp to a total of 540 bhp. The minimum weight of the cars has also been increased by 20 kg and has been set at 950 kg. Furthermore, mirroring
Aston Martin AMR-One - Misplaced Pages Continue
1696-515: The LMP900 formula, while MG were the only major manufacturer to attempt the LMP675 class. The LMGTP class also continued, with Bentley being the only manufacturer to build a closed-cockpit prototype after the regulation changes in 2000. In 2017, in order to limit the costs, FIA introduced a new set of LMP2 regulations, which will be locked in through 2020, aiming for a significant power increase, to
1749-466: The announcement of Toyota Gazoo Racing and Aston Martin Racing committing to the category for its inaugural season, then-to-be the 2020-2021 WEC Season. Aston Martin confirmed the use of the Valkyrie road-going car as the spine of their hypercar, whilst Toyota hinted at the use of their GR Super Sport concept. The two manufacturers would join the supposed Glickenhaus team and ByKolles Racing for
1802-605: The end of the 2016 and 2017 seasons in the aftermath of the Volkswagen emissions scandal affecting the Volkswagen Group (parent company of both manufacturers), as well as spiralling costs in the LMP1 Hybrid sub-category, the ACO began a series of discussions aimed at reducing the costs of competition for the next generation of LMP1 rules. Initially, a single, low-power hybrid system had been planned for
1855-474: The first few races. On 19 February 2020, Aston Martin announced that they would be postponing their Le Mans Hypercar project, as the announcement of the joint ACO-IMSA Le Mans Daytona h (LMDh) rules led the company to reconsider their plans on the project. In addition, the company planned to re-join Formula One in 2021 for the first time since the late 1950s as a factory-backed team. On 11 May 2020,
1908-400: The first year of the category, due to the tight timelines involved and the relatively fluid state of the regulations at the point in time. On 5 December 2018, the FIA published the technical rulebook for the class, with the regulations mandating production-based powertrains. It was also decided that a minimum of 25 road cars fitted with the combustion engine and energy recovery system (ERS) of
1961-413: The high bodywork, one for brake cooling, two through the side vents and one for rear gearbox cooling. One air scoop is in place to feed the turbocharger. Two side ducts on the rear of the car are for rear-brake cooling. The exhaust exits at the bottom of the vertical fin. Six cars were expected to be built, with Aston Martin Racing participating in several international endurance events in 2011, including
2014-427: The new LMP1 rules, with plans for a shared platform with IMSA . Representatives from the three organizations, as well as current and prospective manufacturers, were involved in talks for the proposed regulations, which would debut in the 2020-21 World Endurance Championship (WEC) season. At the time, there had been an option for a customer hybrid powertrain for small-volume manufacturers and privateers, which could lead
2067-630: The performance levels of the LMP1 prototypes. A renaming of the category was later suggested by FIA President Jean Todt . In June 2018, ahead of the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans , the FIA first confirmed that the new set of top-level prototype regulations would feature design concepts based on hypercars when implemented, with a summary of the new technical regulations being presented to the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Manila. At
2120-416: The race car would have to be produced by the end of a manufacturer's first season, with that amount rising to 100 by the end of its second season. This would mean that non-OEM racecar constructors, such as Oreca , Onroak Automotive , and Dallara , would not be permitted to build hypercars, while the previously proposed "off-the-shelf" hybrid solution was absent from the regulations. The regulations called for
2173-399: The range of 150 horsepower (which is expected to lead to a four-second decrease in lap time at Le Mans). Gibson Technology is the exclusive engine supplier for LMP2, producing a four-litre normally-aspirated V8. Biofuels , specifically petrol with 10% ethanol and biodiesel ( BTL ), are allowed in both LMP1 and LMP2 categories. The fuel tank size and minimum weight for non-hybrid cars
Aston Martin AMR-One - Misplaced Pages Continue
2226-617: The regulations to replace those of the Daytona prototype International (DPi) in the top class of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2022; this allowed for the unification of top level sports car racing, with teams and manufacturers being able to compete with the same car in the "triple crown" ( 24 hours of Daytona , 24 Hours of Le Mans , 12 Hours of Sebring ) of endurance racing . These initial plans targeted significant cost reductions while maintaining
2279-494: The same time, the ACO greatly altered their LMP classes. The smaller LMP2 class were briefly eliminated, while a new class of closed-cockpit prototypes was allowed in, known as "LMGTP" (Le Mans grand touring prototype). These cars were evolutions of production-based road cars that the ACO considered too advanced and too fast to fall under the GT class regulations, forcing the ACO to promote them as prototypes. In 2000, changes were made to
2332-475: The second generation, engines were upgraded to the 5.6-litre Nissan VK56 , increasing horsepower to 340 kW (455 hp). For 2025, the engines used in the class are set to be replaced with the twin-turbocharged 3.4-litre Toyota V35A , bringing about a power increase to 350 kW (470 hp). LMPC ( Le Mans Prototype Challenge ) was an earlier entry level class, introduced in 2009, consisting of competitors running identical Oreca FLM09 cars. The class
2385-470: The series in which they compete. The FIA 's equivalent cars were referred to as Sports Racers (SR) or Sports Racing Prototypes (SRP). The American IMSA GT Championship termed their cars World Sports Cars (WSC), while the short-lived United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC) used the classic Can-Am (CA) name for their prototypes. Since 2004, most series have switched to referring to these cars as Le Mans Prototypes . The American Le Mans Series ,
2438-434: The smaller displacement production-based engines. Both classes were required to have open cockpits. However, LMP1 cars that year were just former Group C cars, some still with closed cockpits ( Toyota 94C-V , Courage C32 , Kremer K8 Spyder , Porsche 962C GTI , ALD C289 and Alpa LM). At the same time, the IMSA GT Championship announced the end of their closed cockpit GTP and Lights classes, deciding as well to replace them with
2491-532: The successor to the IMSA GT Championship and the predecessor of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, officially referred to the cars simply as Prototypes (P1, P2, or PC). An LMP is commonly referred to as a Le Mans car in the media. The first use of what would become Le Mans Prototypes was at the 1992 24 Hours of Le Mans . In an attempt to increase the number of entrants beyond the small field of Group C competitors that
2544-456: The target lap time of the new cars was increased from 3:20 to 3:30 and movable aerodynamic devices, originally planned to be allowed under the new regulations, were removed due to cost concerns. On the Friday prior to the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans (14 June, 2019), the full technical regulations regarding the new class were unveiled at the race's press conference. The regulations were teamed with
2597-412: The time, Toyota , Ford , McLaren , Aston Martin , and Ferrari were revealed to have been in roundtable meetings with the championship organisers for the new regulations, with a significantly reduced targeted full-season budget in the region of 25 million euros —75% lower than existing budgets used by manufacturer teams. At the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans , the initial details of the new top class for
2650-446: Was subject to adjustment to reduce the difference in performance between hybrid and non-hybrid cars. There were no limits on the number of cylinders for any type of engine. Bodywork was required to cover all mechanical elements of the car, so that they couldn't be visible when the car is viewed directly from the front, side, or top. The LMP1 cars were generally the most powerful, with higher straight-line speeds. The LMP1 category
2703-414: Was announced that the FIA World Endurance Championship would adjust its criteria for the new prototype regulations, with manufacturers now being permitted to enter race cars derived from road-going hypercars. This was done after several manufacturers expressed interest in a closer alignment between their production and race activities, citing both budgetary and platform availability concerns. Subsequently,
SECTION 50
#17327975794942756-543: Was dropped in European Le Mans Series in 2014 . As the cost of running an LMPC team was found to be comparable to that for an LMP2 team, the class was dropped after the 2017 season in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Le Mans Hypercar A Le Mans Hypercar ( LMH ) is a type of sports prototype race car that competes alongside LMDh entries in the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship . It will also compete in
2809-429: Was retired at the end of the 2020 season, replaced by a new top class of the endurance racing: Hypercar . From 2017, in order to limit the costs, FIA introduced a new set of regulations, which will be locked in through 2025. The rules allow a significant power increase (150 horsepower) which is expected to lead to a four-second decrease in lap time at Le Mans. Gibson Technology is the exclusive engine supplier, producing
#493506