Graphic: Backfire Racing.
The top class in the World Endurance Championship, known as Hypercar, brings together manufacturers using two distinct technical approaches under a single unified set of performance targets.
Two Technical Paths to the Same Class
Manufacturers can build cars under either the LMH, or Le Mans Hypercar, regulations, which allow more design freedom, or the LMDh regulations, which require using a shared standardized hybrid system and chassis from approved suppliers, giving manufacturers flexibility in how they approach the same competitive class.
Balance of Performance Across Two Rule Sets
Because these two technical philosophies produce genuinely different cars, organizers apply Balance of Performance adjustments, similar to the broader system described in how Balance of Performance works in GT racing, to keep LMH and LMDh cars competitive against each other despite their different underlying engineering approaches.
Why Manufacturers Choose Different Paths
Manufacturers choose between LMH and LMDh based on their own development priorities, existing technical relationships, and how much design freedom versus cost control they’re seeking, with the shared LMDh components generally offering a more budget-controlled entry point.
Crossover With the Indy 500
The LMDh platform was specifically designed with enough technical overlap to allow some manufacturers to also compete at the Indianapolis 500, creating a unique crossover opportunity between endurance racing and IndyCar’s biggest event.
Why the Hypercar Class Has Reignited Manufacturer Interest
This flexible approach to top-class regulations is widely credited with attracting a wave of new manufacturer interest in top-level endurance racing, rebuilding grids that had shrunk in the prototype class during the years before Hypercar’s introduction.
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