LMP2 Manufacturers and Engine Suppliers

[GT3_Fan]

I hope the next LMP2 will actually look good too. A generic hypercar looking spec would be neat to have. Maybe this but with a fin

https://squir.com/generic-hypercar-2022.html

[v8supes]

Im in two minds if im honest. On one hand i feel like why change something thats working right now? and on the other id like to see different constructors in the class. However if im reading the article correctly it seems like Oreca will still be the chosen car IF they dont make a complete dog.

Why not just keep what we have now but introduce the BOP process?

I think the lower costs of parts would be a great thing though, thats very important.

[GT3_Fan]

Originally Posted by v8supes

Im in two minds if im honest. On one hand i feel like why change something thats working right now? and on the other id like to see different constructors in the class. However if im reading the article correctly it seems like Oreca will still be the chosen car IF they dont make a complete dog.

Why not just keep what we have now but introduce the BOP process?

I think the lower costs of parts would be a great thing though, thats very important.

My conclusion from the article is that it will be 2027 at earliest. Hey I mean its LMP2, Its not exactly a needle mover in sportscars anyway. WEC is doing great without it and I like the series much better without. Long Beach and Laguna Seca shows IMSA does not really need it either.

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by GT3_Fan

My conclusion from the article is that it will be 2027 at earliest. Hey I mean its LMP2, Its not exactly a needle mover in sportscars anyway. WEC is doing great without it and I like the series much better without. Long Beach and Laguna Seca shows IMSA does not really need it either.

It funds teams and allows drivers to progress. Without that step racing has a huge jump from club to pro. The delusion is strong with ignoring what lmp2 brings to series and those making a living on racing

[tomcug]

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/...ed-until-2028/
https://www.dailysportscar.com/2024/...e-written.html
So the next-gen LMP2 regulations are not only delayed (again) but also rewriten. Maybe it has something to do with LMDh chassis's simply being too expensive for LMP2 use.

[Mike E]

Lol. So now it's an LMDh spine, not an LMP2 spine.

https://www.dailysportscar.com/2024/...e-written.html

[joeb]

Originally Posted by Mike E

Lol. So now it's an LMDh spine, not an LMP2 spine.



https://www.dailysportscar.com/2024/...e-written.html

It always was, I mean lmdh can't be based off of something that doesn't exist?

I am intrigued by the mention of making the next gen cars lighter. The ACO have gone the other direction with Hypercar.

[broadrun96]

Making things lighter in the reg design makes me think of the old Tyson line, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. Start off with your Chapman design and then they realize lighter is expensive and once you add al the safety and and and bits it's no longer lighter

[TF110]

Originally Posted by joeb

It always was, I mean lmdh can't be based off of something that doesn't exist?

I am intrigued by the mention of making the next gen cars lighter. The ACO have gone the other direction with Hypercar.

Thats the only interesting part (to me as lmp2 is too spec for my liking), lighter cars. Now do hypercar too

[chernaudi]

Current LMH/GTP regs are locked in until 2030. LMP2 regs were supposed to be implemented in 2026, but have run behind and most ELMS/AsLMS teams favor keeping the current regs in large part because of that, hence the current LMP2 regs now run until 2028.


You do have to remember that lightweight=increased costs. The Porsche RS Spyder cost just as much if not more than the Audi R8 did in large part due to its weight optimized design. Which is why in 2011 the ACO increased the weight of LMP2 from 775 (2006-07)/825 (2008-10)/800 (ALMS 2008) to 900 kg.


Also, dropping the weight in LMP1 from 900kg to 875 (and with a larger emphasis on hybrid systems) also significantly increased costs, even for privateer teams (who dropped from 900 to 830 kg).

[TF110]

They ran the Oreca lmp1 (and current lmp2 its based on) around 800kg just a few years ago. It's not hard to get the cars back to 900kg which is where they originally were at before they kept adding ballast to slow them down. I bet those lmp2's from the mid 2000s would easily be within the current budgets of current lmp2 teams. This is a business case too, so whichever manufacturer makes the best one will get the most customers (Oreca). If someone like Dallara or Ligier can't make the minimum weight that's their problem. Kinda like the current Lamborghini.

[chernaudi]

The proposal was originally that the LMDh/GTP cars were supposed to form the basis of the new LMP2 regs. Now it's sort of like the Lola/Aston Martin LMP1 deal where factories supply body kits and engines to customer chassis. Or they become quasi-proprietary if only one maker or team buys them.


The current GTP chassis are basically optimized for the GTP/LMDh rules, and are probably too bulky and heavy for the ACO's vision of a lighter/smaller LMP2 car. And though the same 4 makers (Oreca, Multimatic, Ligier and Dallara) are expected to carry over (as well as Gibson as engine supplier), the ACO have said that the next generation LMP2 cars won't have to be based on their GTP tubs.


And it was easier to make 900kg while using a significant amount of ballast with LMP900s and non-diesel LMP1s (which even Audi got there with the R10 and the R15) as they (until the Audi R10 and Peugeot 908) were gasoline powered, didn't have hybrid systems, were usually open cars (which were typically lighter), and didn't have a lot of expensive tech in them.


In 2012/13, the Acura ARX-03 LMP1 was quoted as costing as much as 2.5 million USD. Those were reportedly HPD's numbers, not mine. Boutique makers could maybe get a 900kg LMH that cost less than that, but probably not a major OEM factory effort.


But for LMP2, no major OEM factory involvement is supposed to be the name of the game, and right now, I have huge doubts that you're going to get a 900kg or lighter LMP2 out of the GTP tubs, or even out of the Toyota or Ferrari LMH tubs.

[TF110]

Thats why the rules were scrapped and they wont be based on the current cars in lmdh. In the article they talk about that and a light weight, smaller engine. Heavy cars are not the way to go imo, so if this comes to fruition then I have hope that hypercars successor will follow the same path.