Ford chooses Oreca as chassis partner for its Hypercar

Announced in February 2025, the upcoming arrival of Ford in the Hypercar category in the World ChampionshipEndurance (WEC) as well as 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2027 is becoming more concrete. This Friday, June 13, the Oval brand held a press conference at the Sarthe circuit to detail the outlines of this project.

This Ford LMDh, whose exact name remains a secret, will have partly French DNA. Oreca has indeed been confirmed as the partner to supply the chassis for this prototype. The entity founded in 1973 and headed by Hugues de Chaunac has mastered the art of designing quality chassis in the category, as evidenced by Acura's successes in IMSA North American. In WEC, Oreca is present across the Alpine A424 and in 2026 with the Genesis GMR 001 Hypercar. Oreca has also won the 10 Hours of Le Mans 24 times in the LMP2 class with its Oreca 07.

Building the path to 2027. pic.twitter.com/bqpL3SUb3i

— Ford Performance (@FordPerformance) June 13, 2025

“We are honored that Ford has chosen Oreca to design the future Hypercar of the WEC for his return to the highest level,” said Hugues de Chaunac, President of the Oreca Group. « When I discovered Le Mans as a child, it was at the time of the battle between Ford and Ferrari in 1966. You can imagine my face when Ford called me (in December 2023. Editor’s note)! It is a great honor for Oreca.

This strategic partnership is a key element of our ongoing commitment to the highest level and to the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. We are delighted to bring all our energy, expertise, and enthusiasm to this ambitious project. I would like to thank Bill Ford (Executive Chairman of Ford), Jim Farley (CEO of Ford) and Mark Rushbrook (Director of Ford Performance) for their trust. They can count on the full commitment of all our teams around the world."

Dan Seyers has been chosen to lead the Ford Hypercar program. He currently serves as Program Director. Red Bull Ford Powertrains to develop V6 turbo hybrid Formula 1 for 2026, the British engineer has spent most of his career at Prodrive, and has focused on Aston Martin Vantage GT4, then V12 Vantage GT3, before taking up the position of Technical Director of Aston Martin Racing in GT and Endurance between 2014 and 2019.

ORECA and Dan Sayers get the nod as chassis partner and Ford lead for Hypercar Program.@oreca | @fiawec pic.twitter.com/Y5pPeK7BZ6

— Ford Performance (@FordPerformance) June 13, 2025

“Ford Performance takes on many different challenges in the world of motorsport, but bringing Ford back to its spiritual home of Le Mans was a challenge I couldn’t refuse,” said Dan Sayers, WEC Hypercar Program Manager at Ford Performance. Having previously led Aston Martin to multiple GTE victories (Pro and Am) At Le Mans, the opportunity to do the same in the general classification with Ford is a unique opportunity. I loved working on the F1 program with Red Bull Ford Powertrain. So I feel like I'm joining another part of the same family."


“The chassis partner and the program manager are fundamental elements”, said Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance. “Oreca and Dan Sayers provide us with the right platform to build this entire program. We have all worked closely together since these decisions were made, and every step has been proven correct. We are two years away from being on the grid at Le Mans with our Ford WEC Hypercar program and we now have two of the key elements for a successful return.”

Ford won the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall in its own right in 1966 and 1967, with the Ford GT40 MkII (Bruce McLaren-Chris Amon) as well as the Ford MkIV (AJ Foyt-Dan Gurney). Two further successes, with the Ford GT40 of the private John Wyer Automotive team, followed in 1968 (Lucien Bianchi-Pedro Rodriguez) and 1969 (Jackie Oliver-Jacky Ickx). In 2016, the new generation Ford GT40 dominated the GTE Pro class with Sébastien Bourdais, Joey Hand and Dirk Müller.

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