Video: A Hypercar Lap of Le Mans, Without Leaving Dearborn

Aug 13, 2026

The 5.4-litre Coyote-based V8 Hypercar engine catches in the dyno cell, the numbers climb, and for a few minutes, we're not in Michigan anymore. We're at Le Mans.

DEARBORN, U.S. - Ford Racing's WEC Hypercar will take to the track in France this month for its first official test, but the car’s 5.4-litre Coyote-based V8 engine has already lapped Le Mans without leaving Dearborn.

That’s because the team have been running full simulated laps of the Circuit de la Sarthe on the dyno with every gear change, every braking zone into Mulsanne, every full-throttle charge towards the Ford Chicane, all modelled in real time.

Check out this video which also takes you to Ford’s Technology Centre in North Carolina, where the team’s Hypercar drivers are testing the buck and feeling the car before they've turned a single wheel on track.

Christian Hertrich, Powertrain Chief Engineer at Ford Racing, explains: “The engine doesn’t know the difference, but your ear can tell when it is at wide open throttle and rockets past 9000 rpm. That's what a world-class virtual proving ground buys you, and this engine work has been going on behind the scenes for months now. We don't wait for the racetrack to start learning. We can't afford to.”

The 5.4-litre Coyote-based V8 Hypercar engine catches in the dyno cell, the numbers climb, and for a few minutes, we're not in Michigan anymore. We're at Le Mans.

The 5.4-litre Coyote-based V8 Hypercar engine, running a full simulated lap of the Circuit de la Sarthe — right here on the dyno.

He adds: “Every detail gets refined because when our drivers reach Le Mans, there can be no surprises. We're days from our first test in France, but every dyno session and every hour in that buck is essential for our preparation. We intend to arrive ready. And ready we will be.”