McLaren Reveals MCL-HY Name for New Hypercar

McLaren Endurance Racing has revealed that its new Hypercar that is due to make its FIA World Endurance Championship debut next year will be called the MCL-HY.

The LMDh-based prototype will be powered by twin-turbocharged V6-powered engine and makes use of the ‘MCL’ naming prefix that is currently used on McLaren’s Formula 1 cars, while the ‘HY’ is a nod to the Hypercar category.

McLaren has also revealed that a track variant of the car will be designated the MCL-HY GTR, and this forms part of the manufacturer’s Project Endurance initiative to support the “business case” of its WEC program.

The announcement of the name comes ahead of the Hypercar being unveiled on May 4 after a concept car was previously displayed at last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. A teaser image of the MCL-HY was also released alongside details of the car’s name.

“Taking the McLaren name back to the pinnacle of sports car racing is a huge milestone and it’s a proud time for everyone within McLaren Racing and McLaren Automotive to share the name of our new Hypercar that follows in the footsteps of an incredible lineage of McLaren racing cars,” said James Barclay, executive director of McLaren Endurance Racing.

“We are in a golden era of sports car racing and the Hypercar category continues to be extremely successful — our new car name shows respect to that.

“Our development MCL-HY will be revealed in its incredibly cool test livery ahead of our first rollout.”

Barclay said in January that on-track testing for the MCL-HY — which will be run by United Autosports in the WEC — is due to begin in the second quarter of this year.

Only former Peugeot driver Mikkel Jensen has been announced as racing the car so far, but McLaren CEO Zak Brown recently told Sportscar365 that, while a “few” other racers have been signed, it is also waiting to assess various movements in the driver market before finalizing its full lineup.