According to some rumors that have started to circulate, it seems that Mercedes-AMG is interested in entering the Le Mans scene and is already beyond the evaluation phase with suppliers.
In any case, the specialized portal Daily Sportscar has anticipated the issue, even if the situation is actually still rather premature.
Although he says he is “confident to report that Mercedes-AMG is formally investigating a possible entry into the hypercar category [WEC] or GTP [IMSA] with an LMDh prototype for some time,” citing supplier sources, no further details are provided, such as the year construction began.
While the talks are “clearly more” than just an informal exploration of possibilities, we can say that this is a bold move, given that so far no other sources have reported being interested in an AMG-LMDh. Motorsport.com is also not aware of any considerations of this type on the part of the manufacturer, after having made its own requests and assessments.
Mercedes-AMG at Le Mans: this is a plus
The Hypercar class is undoubtedly the greatest success in the history of wheel racing and even eclipses Group C. Almost all the major traditional automotive groups are now represented, with only Ford, Mercedes-Benz and Tata currently absent.
Decisive for the success of the category: the Balance of Performance (BoP) – although controversial from a sporting point of view – keeps development costs low. For the first time since motorsport fell into the cost trap in the 1990s, Le Mans can be achieved at a price where costs do not exceed marketing value.
According to the ACO, the current hypercars are the last petrol-powered cars in the premier class. However, the hydrogen class, which is expected to replace the whole thing at some point, has been further postponed and further postponements cannot be ruled out. Hypercars can currently be used until at least 2029 and will likely continue to race at Le Mans until 2030.
Furthermore, a championship with the BoP does not require a period of years to adapt as it did with competition-oriented regulations. If the conditions are right, victories are possible already in the first year, as the example of Ferrari demonstrates.
Furthermore, Mercedes has now put to rest its ambitious plan to offer exclusively electric cars by 2030. Electrified combustion engines will be offered until 2030 – in other words, the concept that is also being pursued with hypercars.
With the Mercedes-AMG One, there is a hypercar for the road that has just broken its own record on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife and was the first road-legal car to lap it in less than 6’30”. The car racing could be visually modeled on this vehicle.
Once again from Mercedes-Siegen in Le Mans: 1989 with the Sauber-Mercedes C9
Photo: Daimler
AMG can also rely on the long Mercedes tradition at Le Mans, which has so far produced two overall victories in 1952 and 1989. The inglorious GT1 era could easily be ignored if we think of the old successes.
Another aspect is the possibility to “temporarily park” Formula 1 project personnel in a Hypercar project relatively easily, in case the Formula 1 team is at risk of exceeding its intended budget cup limit.
Speaking of LMDh, Porsche also demonstrated that the success of this concept always lies with the brand, despite an external chassis and standardized electronics – ultimately even more clearly than with the Sauber-Mercedes C9, for example, where the team raced Switzerland was still present in the name.
Motorsport.com also reached out to Mercedes-AMG for comment. The response was: “We do not engage in speculation.” So not a complete denial.
Mercedes-AMG at Le Mans: what’s in the ‘cons’
If the decision to enter the series were made internally today, 2027 would be the earliest possible date for a full season. And as Motorsport.com has learned from sources within Mercedes, such participation, if it had already been decided, would have been kept secret. Too secret to be true.
On the one hand, there is the issue of costs. This topic is already being watered down more and more. The use of development wildcards and, in some cases, the conversion of entire car concepts, as in the case of the Vanwall, is again generating costs for upgrades that should no longer be there. However, the objective of maintaining the original cost was missed due to the high number of Manufacturers, because when there are many of them, sooner or later everything becomes expensive.
Furthermore, it has been proven time and time again that BoP is not insurance against bad cars. Even in the WEC there were sometimes evident differences between the individual Hypercars. And this applies not only to small manufacturers such as Isotta Fraschini, Vanwall or Glickenhaus, but also to established brands such as Lamborghini and Peugeot.
The other Mercedes-Sieg: Hermann Lang and Fritz Riess triumphed in 1952 in the 300 SL
Photo: Motorsport Images
Builders: are there already many, perhaps too many?
In 2026, at least ten manufacturers will fight for victory at Le Mans, but there can only be one winner. More builders will go home frustrated than will benefit from their participation.
And by the time the Mercedes-AMG hypercar is ready, others will have already contested four or five Le Mans races with their cars. No BoP in the world can surpass this experience.
The biggest problem in everything to do with Mercedes and Le Mans is and remains the trauma of 1999. Since then, Mercedes has not only avoided the topic of Le Mans, but has not even addressed it. Stefan Wendl, head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing, always said that Le Mans was interesting for customer teams with the GT3 car, even when asked directly about the Hypercar Class.
Mercedes’ official line has always been: we are showing hybrid technology in Formula 1, where the percentage of electric energy will be significantly increased from 2026, while it is minimal in an LMDh. And this has also been repeatedly underlined with the AMG One, as the combustion engine is derived directly from the Formula 1 unit.
And that’s where the next problem lies: it’s hard to emulate the One with this engine, because it’s simply too small. The LMDh category favors large displacement engines due to the pre-determined torque curve. And it is precisely these that AMG is currently moving away from: the discussion about the C63 AMG with a four-cylinder engine is effectively the tombstone on the issue.
Sure, there would still be the option of a turbo V8 engine, like the one used in the AMG GT (now on the market for ten years) or the AMG S 63 E Performance, but then it would make little sense to borrow anything from the One.
Reicht ein Vierteljahrhundert aus, um das Trauma von 1999 zu überwinden?
Photo: Motorsport Images
Even the possibility of temporary parking for staff who can no longer be employed in F1, as we said above, does not require the commitment of a Hypercar. Mercedes-AMG is present in GT3 competition and will develop a new car in the coming years; after all, the current AMG GT3 is approaching its tenth anniversary.
This raises the question of what exactly Mercedes wants to achieve at Le Mans. A victory at the 24h helps a brand like Ferrari or Porsche much more than Mercedes, thanks to their sportier image. The only option left would be to differentiate AMG more from Mercedes and use a Le Mans project to do so.
The Sauber-Mercedes project was always a preliminary exercise for Formula 1 (where Mercedes quickly abandoned Sauber in favor of McLaren). The GT1 project of the 1990s was a replacement for the DTM/ITC discontinuation after 1996, and given that the Formula E team was sold to McLaren, there is no need to find a replacement in this case.
Finally, there is another aspect: since Isotta Fraschini’s farewell, the colleagues at Daily Sportscar have already attempted several times to include Mercedes-AMG in the WEC: first twice in the LMGT3 Class, now moving to the Hypercar Class, which would guarantee a in turn an LMGT3 slot.
However, Isotta Fraschini and Vanwall are still two contenders who want to return and who should be taken into consideration before AMG can come forward with the GT3. Unless the ACO wants to artificially stifle the hypercar boom, which wouldn’t be good for an AMG-LMDh either.
Manufacturers constantly review their existing and potential motorsport programs. A formal review process doesn’t necessarily mean much. However, this would already be a strong signal, because it would be the first time since the 1999 trauma that Mercedes seriously addresses the issue.
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