Ford Racing has released further details regarding its forthcoming FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar effort, unveiling three of the drivers that will pilot its pair of eagerly-anticipated prototypes in 2027 while confirming that it will run a naturally-aspirated V8 engine.
The announcements were made during the Blue Oval’s annual Season Launch event at Michigan Central Station in downtown Detroit, not far from the famous American marque’s Dearborn base.
It was already known that Ford’s first Hypercar would use a chassis designed and developed by experienced French organisation, ORECA. It has now been revealed that the car will be powered by a naturally-aspirated, 5.4-litre V8 engine, which – for the first time in the company’s history – will be produced entirely in-house with the support of Red Bull Ford Powertrains.
Sharing the same architecture as the Mustang LMGT3 and mated to a spec hybrid system, the choice will make Ford’s new challenger only the third non-turbocharged car in the FIA WEC Hypercar field in 2027, alongside the Cadillac V-Series.R and Aston Martin Valkyrie.
“One year ago, we made a promise to return to the top-flight of endurance racing,” commented Ford Racing Hypercar Programme Manager, Dan Sayers. “Today, we are 12 months away from being on the grid.
“In the world of global motorsport, that is a heart-stopping timeframe. To build a Hypercar programme from a blank sheet of paper to a Le Mans start-line in just two years is, by any objective measure, almost impossible, but at Ford Racing, making the impossible possible is the only way we know how to work. We have spent the last year in the trenches, and while the main event is still ahead of us, the soul of this machine is already beginning to roar.
“That soul is the engine. It is more than just a component – it is the identity of the car. When you hear a Ford coming down the Mulsanne Straight at three in the morning, you shouldn’t have to look at the badge to know who it is. That’s why we chose the Coyote. When you have an engine this iconic in your arsenal – a powerplant that already defines our Dark Horse R, GT4 and GT3 programmes – you don’t look for alternatives. You lean into your DNA.”
Almost six decades have passed since the brand last mastered the Mulsanne to triumph in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with the legendary GT40 tallying four consecutive outright wins at La Sarthe from 1966 to 1969 – including an historic top three lockout in the first of those editions. More recently, the Ford GT prevailed in the race’s LMGTE Pro category in 2016; ten years on, the company has its sights solidly set on the main prize once more.
On the driving front, three names – Sebastian Priaulx, Mike ‘Rocky’ Rockenfeller and Logan Sargeant – were confirmed at the Season Launch, with the manufacturer opting for a blend of youth and experience as it prepares to take on a high-calibre grid of similarly hungry Hypercar rivals.
Rising star Priaulx and seasoned endurance racer Rockenfeller are already members of the Ford family, having teamed up behind the wheel of the Multimatic Motorsports-run Mustang in IMSA’s GTD Pro category in 2025. Victories on home soil in Detroit and at Indianapolis Motor Speedway propelled the 24-year-old Guernseyman and Le Mans-winning German to third in the final standings.
In advance of 2027, they will contest the LMP2 class together in the European Le Mans Series this year, while ex-Formula 1 ace Sargeant – who has made sporadic forays into sportscar competition of late – impressed during a tryout in Proton Competition’s podium-finishing Mustang in Bahrain’s end-of-season FIA WEC Rookie Test last November.
Priaulx and Sargeant will also form part of Proton’s LMGT3 assault in 2026. The former will join forces with fellow Brit Ben Tuck and Florida native Eric Powell in the #77 entry, with the latter flanking incumbent Italians Giammarco Levorato and Stefano Gattuso in the sister #88 car.
“Seb is a pure, natural talent, ‘Rocky’ is the veteran who has seen it all and won it all while Logan brings a level of technical sophistication and high-downforce experience that is vital for a programme of this scale,” remarked Sayers, describing the trio as ‘scientists as much as racers’.
“Having an American back in a Ford at Le Mans feels right. It’s a nod to giants like Dan Gurney and AJ Foyt, who showed the world in 1967 what happens when American grit meets global ambition.
“We aren’t waiting until 2027 to start fighting, though. We are building a team, refining our processes and earning our stripes in the real world. We are taking the building-blocks of this programme and stress-testing them under the most demanding conditions on the planet.
“We have the engine, we have the drivers and we have the vision, but the work is far from over. We are building more than just a car – we are building a legacy. We are reclaiming our seat at the top table of endurance racing.
“We are America’s Race Team, and we are coming for the world.”
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