[2] Following the successive exits of Audi and Porsche from the FIA World Endurance Championship at the end of the 2016 and 2017 seasons in the aftermath of the Volkswagen emissions scandal affecting the Volkswagen Group (parent company of both manufacturers), as well as spiralling costs in the LMP1 Hybrid sub-category, the ACO began a series of discussions aimed at reducing the costs of competition for the next generation of LMP1 rules.
Representatives from the three organizations, as well as current and prospective manufacturers, were involved in talks for the proposed regulations, which would debut in the 2020-21 World Endurance Championship (WEC) season.
At the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans, the initial details of the new top class for the FIA World Endurance Championship were announced at the ACO's annual press conference, with the regulations set to be active for 5 seasons.
[10] On 21 October 2018, McLaren announced that it would not participate in the first year of the category, due to the tight timelines involved and the relatively fluid state of the regulations at the point in time.
This would mean that non-OEM racecar constructors, such as Oreca, Onroak Automotive, and Dallara, would not be permitted to build hypercars, while the previously proposed "off-the-shelf" hybrid solution was absent from the regulations.
[13] On 7 March 2019, it was announced that the FIA World Endurance Championship would adjust its criteria for the new prototype regulations, with manufacturers now being permitted to enter race cars derived from road-going hypercars.
[14][15] Subsequently, the target lap time of the new cars was increased from 3:20 to 3:30 and movable aerodynamic devices, originally planned to be allowed under the new regulations, were removed due to cost concerns.
[16] On the Friday prior to the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans (14 June, 2019), the full technical regulations regarding the new class were unveiled at the race's press conference.
[17][18] Aston Martin confirmed the use of the Valkyrie road-going car as the spine of their hypercar, whilst Toyota hinted at the use of their GR Super Sport concept.
[1] This convergence allows the Le Mans Hypercars to compete in the IMSA SportsCar Championship in tandem with its sister LMDh cars, starting from 2023.