Ford’s journey back to the top class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is well underway. The Coyote-branded V-8 that will power its Oreca-based LMDh race car finally fired up for the first time on a dyno a few weeks ago, paving the way to a landmark first test for the complete car this month. In the meantime, the Blue Oval has something special to show us from that dyno stand.
In a video shared on Monday, the 5.4-liter engine runs an an entire simulated lap of the Circuit de la Sarthe. The short clip unfortunately does not include full audio of the session, but a story shared on the company’s From The Road blog at least details what is happening in the clip, and why it matters for developing the new powertrain. The engine can also be heard at its full 9000 rpm in the clip, a roar that will be welcome for fans of naturally-aspirated V-8s.
Ford / YouTube
The quick clip also shows the Ford Racing development team’s driver-in-loop simulator, complete with a small piece of bodywork that may provide a new look at the final race car design. While this is not necessarily an intended preview of the new car, one goal of a DIL simulator is to replicate the eyeline drivers will see when piloting the race car being simulated. That likely means that the raised fenders and flattened nose shape being shown here is at least similar to what we will see when Ford eventually takes the wraps off its much-anticipated new racer.
While Ford Racing still has not announced when the new Le Mans race car will be revealed, plans to begin testing this month suggest that a debut should be coming sooner rather than later. It’s scheduled to race for the first time when the FIA World Endurance Championship season kicks off early next year, and the long-awaited return to Le Mans will follow on June 12th. Unfortunately for U.S.-based Ford fans, the car has still not been confirmed for the IMSA GTP grid, and is not set to race in the American series any time soon.
Fred Smith’s love of cars comes from his fascination with auto racing. Unfortunately, that passion led him to daily drive a high-mileage, first-year Porsche Panamera. He is still thinking about the last lap of the 2011 Indianapolis 500.