McLaren MCL-HY Hypercar makes public debut at Goodwood

McLaren put its MCL-HY Hypercar testing program on pause this weekend to run the car in public for the first time at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The prototype, which will debut in the FIA WEC in 2027, completed demonstration runs in its Bruce McLaren tribute test livery Friday and Saturday on the event's famous hillclimb. Formula 1 world champion Lando Norris (pictured below) and newly minted McLaren Hypercar driver Laurens Vanthoor both took turns behind the wheel before the car's return to testing tomorrow.

The runs at Goodwood followed the car's reveal back in May and the start of its test program, run at multiple circuits in Italy. Although the program is only 10 weeks old, McLaren elected to bring the car to Goodwood, marking the first time fans have seen the manufacturer's first 24 Hours of Le Mans challenger since the race-winning F1 GTR.

"The Goodwood Festival of Speed is the greatest car show on Earth, so it made sense for us to have this on our radar. But the truth is, it's extremely early in our test program so it was very lightly penciled in" said McLaren Hypercar team principal James Barclay. "However, our team has done an incredible job, hitting every target on- and off-track so we made the last-minute call to divert the MCL-HY to the event for two of the four days and share it with the passionate motorsport fans that attend."

"The appetite for sports car racing in the UK is huge and we're delighted that Goodwood gives us the opportunity to celebrate this. UK-based fans who are hungry for more will also now have the chance to see the Hypercar class in action at Silverstone, as the WEC returns to the home of British motorsport next year."

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