Ford is returning to prototype racing, officially announcing its entry into the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 2027.
Ford Performance will support a full factory team in the FIA WEC in a few years’ time with sights set on returning to the fabled 24 Hours of Le Mans with a Hypercar division entry. The Blue Oval is no stranger to success in endurance racing’s most prestigious global event, sweeping four consecutive overall victories in 1966 through 1969.
However, since then, The Blue Oval ratcheted back its sports car racing program to focus solely on individual classes, including with the Ford GT in the 2016 GTLM division. Most recently, the Ford Mustang GT3 won in the GTD Pro class at the 2025 Rolex 24, marking the model’s first global victory since it was introduced for the 2024 racing season.
“When we race, we race to win,” said Bill Ford, Ford Motor Company Executive Chair. “And there is no track or race that means more to our history than Le Mans. It is where we took on Ferrari and won in the 1960s. It is where we returned 50 years later and shocked the world and beat Ferrari again. I am thrilled that we’re going back to Le Mans and competing at the highest level of endurance racing. We are ready to once again challenge the world, and ‘go like hell!’”
At this time, Ford has not indicated who its partners will be for its prototype racing endeavors. Additionally, it has not indicated if it will bring its prototype race car stateside to compete in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, but previous rumors point to the possibility. Regardless, the FIA WEC welcomes The Blue Oval back to competition with open arms.
“Ford has been synonymous with success both on and off-track for decades, and we are delighted that the company has chosen the FIA World Endurance Championship for its latest challenge,” said Frédéric Lequien, CEO of the FIA WEC. “To have at least ten major automotive brands committed to the series’ top-tier in 2027 is testament to the championship’s stellar momentum and growth.”
This announcement represents a complete about-face from Ford’s position on prototype racing as recently as two years ago, when The Blue Oval firmly stated that it was not interested. However, obviously, that’s no longer the case as Ford continues to expand its motorsports reach beyond North American divisions.
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Auto media news this morning is “Ford Racing, Ford Racing and MORE Ford Racing”. I’ve seen 4 stories about different entries into different types of racing.
So we now know what Ford execs are doing. Is it any surprise?
Nice, hopefully they can play with the iconic GT40 shape for the car (form follows function though at this tier of racing so I doubt we’ll see something like a 4th gen GT). Also hope they take a page out of Cadillac’s book and use the hybrid system for pitting and make it all motor on the course. I went to Le Man’s last year and the Cadi hyper car was easily the most exciting car on the grid. Especially as it silently left the pits and once clear of the speed limited zone the car would roar to life.
If they do a V8 it will also probably be the 5.4L Coyote V8 which is has proven itself at Le Mans and at Daytona in their 24 hour events and what makes it even better is that the engine uses the stock architecture (cylinder heads and block) so it really is a case of Ford using the production parts for top tier racing and the same engine that goes into the F150 and Mustang also gets used on some of the most prestigious tracks in the world. Pretty good stuff for an engine that’s still considered part of the humble Modular engine family (the Coyote shares the bore spacing and deck height with the older Modular engines with a few more details).
If you watched the Ford Performance 2025 Season Launch event last night at the very end during Bill Ford’s segment they did show a banner with the statement: “Ford is entering an LMDh car in the World Endurance Championship series in 2027, which includes the legendary Le Mans.” Bill also made a point of congratulating Roger Penske on his ’25 Rolex 24 overall win, even though it was with Porsche. Considering Team Penske’s partnership with Ford in NASCAR don’t be surprised if Penske runs the WEC effort as well.