Isotta Fraschini is back to race at Le Mans | GRR
Storied racing name Isotta Fraschini is to be revived for the new Le Mans Hypercar era of sportscar racing. A new LMH car bearing the name and developed by Michelotto is due to be launched in February, with its competition debut at Spa in April.
Out of action since the 1940s, Isotta Fraschini also aims to be competing in the centennial running of the Le Mans 24 Hours. “The 2023 edition of the most famous endurance race in the world will be the centenary and there will be a record number of cars aiming for victory,” a marque statement reads.
“For its return to the great international scene there can be no more difficult challenge and Isotta Fraschini will not shy away from this confrontation, the most appropriate to its coat of arms.”
The car’s aerodynamics will be developed in the Williams windtunnel and powering it will be a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 engine working in tandem with a hybrid system. Per the LMH rules, system output will at no point exceed 680PS (500kW). We expect the car therefore to mimic Toyota’s GR010 and use the electrified front axle on corner exit for added traction, with the engine switched to a low-power tune for the corner exit bursts.
Perhaps even more surprising than the marque’s return to racing, is its additional intention to develop the racer into a road-going hypercar. This, along with a road-only GT car are claimed to be on track for a debut in the medium term.
The car will be joining a Le Mans grid of over 10 cars at the 2023 centennial running, with Ferrari, Porsche and Cadillac at the very least, guaranteed to join the fray with Toyota and Glickenhaus, each represented with two cars at the very least. As we know, Porsche’s customer programme for the 963 is already well underway meaning we could well see more than the factory team racing next year.