Honda could bring its LMDh to the WEC in 2027

Honda Racing Corporation is reportedly in talks to bring the ARX-06 to the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2027 with Inter Europol Competition as the operational partner, under a scheme where the Polish team would cover the majority of the budget. The possibility exists, but David Salters, President of HRC US, made the condition clear at Daytona: "If the budget were available, it could be done. If it is not available, it can't be: that is the central aspect of this question."

Photo By IMSA

Why Isn't Honda-Acura in WEC?

The ARX-06 has been eligible for WEC since its 2023 debut because the LMDh regulations allow the same car to compete in IMSA and WEC without major technical changes, though few manufacturers take advantage of this possibility. Cadillac and BMW are the only ones with LMDh programs in both series currently, as Porsche focused solely on IMSA this year and Lamborghini withdrew from both championships.

Honda chose to limit itself to IMSA under the Acura name despite the ARX-06 winning Daytona in 2023 on its debut and finishing second in the 2025 manufacturers' championship with victories at Detroit and Watkins Glen. Meyer Shank Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing expressed interest in racing at Le Mans with the car, but Honda never approved the expansion because it prioritized its return to Formula 1 as an engine supplier for 2026, leaving limited resources for prototypes in the market where Acura has a commercial presence as an exclusive North American division.

Photo By IMSA

Why Now with Private Funding

The model Honda is seeking has precedents in the current WEC. Cadillac operates with Hertz Team JOTA, where the private British team covers operational costs with technical support from General Motors. Aston Martin has a similar structure with The Heart of Racing and Multimatic for its Valkyrie program. Honda would provide technical support without assuming full operational costs.

Inter Europol Competition would cover most of the budget according to reports, and the Polish team has the credentials to back it up: it won Le Mans 2023 in LMP2 after competing in WEC between 2021-2023, and in 2024 it clinched the LMP2 drivers' and teams' championships in IMSA. This year it operates two cars in ELMS and a full program in IMSA, where at Daytona it finished second and third with the #43 and #343. The team provides European infrastructure and Le Mans experience that Honda needs to operate in the world championship.

Photo By IMSA

Honda vs Acura

If the program is confirmed, it would use the Honda name instead of Acura because the luxury division was created for the North American market and concentrates its commercial activity in that region, which would mean racing at Le Mans and in WEC under that name would have limited commercial impact compared to using the globally recognized Honda brand. The same ARX-06 would change badges but would technically be identical to the car that races in IMSA, as it only requires homologation for WEC and the HRC twin-turbo V6 engines with the Bosch hybrid system are the same.

Eleven Manufacturers in Hypercar

Honda would arrive alongside Ford and McLaren in 2027. The Hypercar category would reach 11 manufacturers: Aston Martin, Toyota, Cadillac, BMW, Alpine, Ferrari, Peugeot, Genesis, Ford, McLaren, and Honda. With two cars per manufacturer, that would mean 22 prototypes in the premier class of the WEC.