Ferrari’s new 499P Hypercar has been built in-house and will be run as a full factory program in the 2023 WEC. Photo: Philip Prupprecht/Ferrari

It's an enormous week for sportscar racing as thousands descend on Central Florida for another installment of "Super Sebring," a combination of the WEC's 1000 Miles of Sebring season opener and the storied 12 Hours of Sebring. This weekend will also mark the return of Ferrari to top-level, factory-based sports car racing for the first time in 50 years. Richard S. James traveled to Italy for the unveiling of the 499P Hypercar and detailed the latest weapon from the Maranello manufacturer in the Fall 2022 issue of RACER - No. 319.


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Large rear-wing endplates add to 499P’s striking looks. Photo: Philip Prupprecht/Ferrari

Ferrari has been a near constant in the world of motorsports, Enzo Ferrari famously starting to build road cars to finance his racing programs. Formula 1, of course, but prototype and GT sports cars, too…the company’s spent time at the top of several racing disciplines. Yet for the last half century, there has been no Ferrari factory effort at the top levels of sports car endurance racing, despite the brilliant, privateer-focused 333 SP in the 1990s’ World Sports Car era and the company’s recent successes in WEC GTE Pro. That changes in 2023 with the introduction of the 499P Hypercar, destined for the top class of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Ferrari joins Toyota, Glickenhaus and Peugeot in building cars to the joint FIA/ACO Hypercar ruleset. Those four will be joined by Porsche and Cadillac bringing LMDh cars to the top class in 2023 as well, with Alpine, Lamborghini and BMW joining in 2024 with their LMDh designs. The convergence of sports car racing categories, with the IMSA-initiated LMDh class conceived for parity with Hypercar performance, along with the maverick nature of the Hypercar category, created the right conditions for Ferrari to jump back in the pool after a 50-year dry spell.


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Factory 330 P4s finished 1-2 in the ’67 Daytona 24 Hours. Could the 499P be Daytona bound in 2024? Ferrari S.p.A./Daytona International Speedway