By Carlo Platella
Many new features are expected for the WEC 2024, with the entry of Lamborghini, Isotta Fraschini, Alpine and BMW, but in the meantime Toyota, Ferrari, Peugeot, Porsche and Cadillac are not standing idly by. The most important progress will come from greater knowledge of the respective cars, evolving the set-up and use of the tyres. These will be accompanied by some technical updates, granted for reasons of reliability or up to a maximum of five tokens in the approval cycle if they impact performance. A few months before the start of the World Cup, here is the summary of the teams' development plans.
Toyota
The world champions team is the one whose next moves are least known. The GR010 Hybrid has already been extensively developed in recent years, also considering that in 2024 it will be at its fourth season of approval. Some of the past updates were mandatory to accommodate convergence with the LMDh, such as the adoption of an open front differential and an anti-roll bar adjustable from the cockpit.
Other innovations, however, had a significant impact on performance. In 2022 Toyota abandoned the four tires of equal width, switching to wider ones at the rear (340 mm) and narrower ones at the front (290 mm), a change which in turn led to a correction of the weight distribution in 2023. Last year, in fact, the GR010 was lightened in various mechanical components of the engine and transmission, but there were also changes to the external aerodynamics. Future updates to the car will therefore depend on whether and how many development tokens remain available of world champions.
Ferrari
The Prancing Horse still has all five tokens available, but at the moment there is no certainty as to where these will be invested. “We have identified areas that we could improve in the future,” explained Antonello Coletta at the Ferrari Finals last October. “We still don't have very clear ideas on what and how much we could do to develop the car. However, we are certainly starting to have some intuitions which areas to act on. When we do this, we will try to maximize as best we can so as not to lose the first of the tokens we are going to spend.”
The 499P did not show any particular reliability problems. The only significant problem concerned the management of the front generator of the #51 at Portimao, while the slowdowns at the final pit stops at Le Mans were of an electronic nature. In terms of performance, the Rossa showed low aerodynamic resistance in a straight line, while something was missing in terms of maximum aerodynamic load. Whatever new developments are in the pipeline at Maranello, they could make their debut late in the season. The first half of the calendar will also feature the super-fast tracks of Spa and Le Mans, which is why for Ferrari, whether deliberately or accidentally, not immediately compromising the excellent efficiency of the 499P could prove useful.
![](https://storage.googleapis.com/fp-media/1/2023/06/GettyImages-1497148600-1-990x660.jpg)
Peugeot
Big news is expected from the French company in 2024, but the 9X8 will still take to the track. “Obviously there will be evolutionsbut from a budget point of view there wouldn't even be the possibility of making a new car”, Jean-Marc Finot, senior vice president of Stellantis Motorsport, explained in July. In the community there is talk of a profoundly revolutionized Peugeot, with the addition of a rear wing. In fact, the priority is to shift the balance towards the rear, optimizing the car for a regulation which in recent years has progressively limited the use of all-wheel drive and therefore of the front hybrid.
It is not yet clear whether Peugeot will follow the example of the work done by Toyota, switching to wider tires at the rear and redistributing weight. In fact, it should be remembered that the Stellantis brand he no longer has five development tokens available, having already spent some. In 2023 the 9X8 showed up at Sebring with aerodynamic updates to the diffuser and rear wheel arches, while at Portimao the electromechanical gearbox actuators were replaced with hydraulic components. The last change, however, was mainly dictated by reliability.
![Peugeot 9X8](https://storage.googleapis.com/fp-media/1/2023/06/Peugeot-9X8-WEC-Hypercar-990x660.jpg)
Porsche
In Weissach we are preparing to take part in the 24 hours of Daytona, a race for which the 963s arrive already equipped with the first updates that mainly concern reliability, in areas such as some sensors and cabin cooling. Furthermore, in autumn Urs Kuratle, director of official programs for Porsche Motorsport, spoke on the pages of Racecar Engineering of the possibility of a new crankshaft to reduce vibrations, a change which however is not confirmed at the moment. The basis of the 963 engine, in fact, is the V8 of the RS Spyder Lmp2, a not exactly recent platform.
![](https://storage.googleapis.com/fp-media/1/2023/05/Porsche-963-top.jpg)
Cadillac
The only rumors on the development plans of the V-Series.R come again from the newspaper Racecar Engineering. In 2023 the Cadillac-Dallaras raced in both the IMSA championship and the World Championship, on tracks with different designs and types of asphalt. The data collected pushes the General Motors brand to correct the center of pressure of the only car registered in the WEC, to better adapt to the wider tracks of the championship. All eyes on the aerodynamics of the 2024 Cadillac, therefore, which could present some innovations.
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