Ferrari Just Teased Its New Le Mans Hypercar

Ferrari’s return to endurance racing has entered the testing stages.

The legendary Italian marque shared the first image of its new Le Mans hypercar on Wednesday. Then, later, the car was spotted running laps around the Prancing Horse’s Fiarano test track for the first time.

We’ve known since early last year that Ferrari wanted to compete in next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans—the race it dominated after World War II but hasn’t entered since 1971—but this is the first we’ve seen of the race car it will use to make its return. The image, which depicts the camouflaged vehicle’s reflection in a window, doesn’t give away much but it’s definitely enticing. We’re particularly interested in seeing the car’s curves and trio of massive rear fins in all their glory.

“Being able to touch the result of many months of work, planning, and simulations gives us new energy and motivation,” Antonello Coletta, the head of Ferrari Attività Sportive GT, said in an official statement. “We are proud of what we have achieved, and although the LMH’s masking during testing hides the car’s volumes and styling, I think it is undeniably recognizable as a Ferrari.”

The first official image of the racer leaves much to the imagination, but clearer spy shots of the vehicle started to circulate online later in the day. The images, which were published by Autosport, show the car undergoing its first shakedown test at Fiarano. We don’t know any specifics, but the magazine reports that Ferrari factory driver Alessandro Pier Guidi was at the wheel and that more testing will be carried out later this month.

While there is still clearly plenty of work to be done, Ferrari intends to run its new hypercar in next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, which will be the centenary edition of endurance racing’s premiere competition. We’ll have to wait until closer to then to find out what the car will look like and be capable of. One thing we do know, though, is that at least 25 production examples will likely need to be built for the car to be eligible for the race. After more than 50 years, we can barely wait.