Dean: McLaren LMDh Development “Hitting Its Targets”

Development on McLaren’s LMDh car is “hitting its targets” according to United Autosports CEO Richard Dean, who has outlined a plan to complete the initial rollout of the car in the first quarter of 2026.

McLaren unveiled its as-yet-unnamed LMDh car at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June, along with confirmation that the car will have a Dallara chassis and be powered by a twin-turbocharged V6 engine.

The car will is scheduled to make its FIA World Endurance Championship debut in 2027, with United set to operate the entry under the McLaren United AS banner.

United recently announced that it will take a step back from competing in WEC in order to place increased focus on the LMDh project, with Garage 59 instead taking over the McLaren LMGT3 entry starting next year.

When asked by Sportscar365, United boss Dean spoke positively about the rate of progress being made on LMDh development, also noting that the decision to debut in 2027 has given “breathing space” when it comes to the lead time.

“When it was announced, a lot of people asked, ‘Oh, are you going to race next year?’ And I said, ‘No, it’s not until 2027,” he said.

“For people who are not involved in the sport from the inside, that feels like a long way away. I’m very pleased that we’ve got that lead time to prepare for it.

“Because it feels like all of the targets to hit [for] all the various key milestones of the project are all achievable, with some room that inevitably you might have to adapt a little bit.

“We’ve got that room. We don’t feel massively under pressure. The beauty of what’s going on at the moment is everything’s hitting its targets.

“And on some of the parts of the project, we’re ahead of target. So it feels like it’s giving us a little bit of breathing space.

“It’s always nice to hear the reports from every part of the program, from the chassis side, the engine side, the design side, the operational side.

“Everybody’s on target and some [are] ahead of target.”

When asked about testing plans, Dean outlined that the plan is to have the first car ready to begin on-track testing early next year ahead of an intensive testing program.

“Then the test ramps up with one car and then eventually two cars testing throughout 2026,” he said. “Obviously with the target that by November 2026 you are thinking about shipping everything off to Qatar.

“I think we’ve got three 36-hour tests planned. The test program is coming together; we’ve got circuits booked already.

“We’re booking circuits because all of the project is on time at the moment. So there’s no issues at the moment. It’s early days still, but it’s nice to be on target.”

When it comes to drivers for the program, Dean stated that it is important to “keep our options open” and not focus too much on one particular background.

While no drivers have yet been publicly named, a handful of names have been linked to the program including Sam Bird, who used to race for McLaren’s now-defunct Formula E team.

Current Peugeot Hypercar driver Paul di Resta has a long-standing relationship with United through its LMP2 program, while Mikkel Jensen and Malthe Jakobsen, also currently at Peugeot, are both also thought to be potential targets along with newly crowned IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP winner Matt Campbell.

“A few years ago when Hypercar was announced, I always imagined that the manufacturers would pick from LMP2,” said Dean.

“It feels like the closest thing to a Hypercar in terms of performance, downforce, whatever. That has not been the case.

“Manufacturers such as Porsche have taken the GT drivers and they’ve really adapted which goes back to this philosophy [that] if you can drive, you can drive.

“So I think you should just broaden the outlook on who’s available. If they’re an exceptional driver, they will be able to Hypercar, whatever background they come from or what experience they come from.

“I think the grid’s full of people from LMP2, from single-seaters, from GT. There’s a broad spectrum of drivers out there so we’ve just got to keep our options open and not be too focused on one area.”