Italian car manufacturer Isotta Fraschini is set for an extraordinary return and aims to compete in the 2023 Le Mans Hypercar class.
Isotta Fraschini was founded in Milan in 1900 and effectively died off in the 1940s. An attempt was made to revive it in the 1990s but it failed. Now, it is being relaunched once again and has previewed its upcoming LMH competitor that will complete against cars from Toyota, Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus, Peugeot, and Ferrari, as well as those from the LMDh class such as Lamborghini, Acura, BMW, Cadillac, Porsche, and Alpine.
It is understood the new hypercar will be launched with a 3.0-liter V6 with a pair of turbochargers and a hybrid system. It should pump out a maximum of 680 PS (671 hp) to comply with racing regulations while the chassis and bodywork will be made from carbon fiber and other lightweight composite materials. It is understood that the engine powers the rear wheels while the electric motor drives the front wheels. A seven-speed sequential transmission is also expected.
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The Italian firm’s revival is being led by Colombian businessman Frank Kanayet Yepes and has already inked partnerships with Pankl, Bosch, Williams, Multimatic, Brembo, and PWR. Indeed, a lot of the car’s aerodynamic development has taken place in the Williams wind tunnel.
“The 2023 edition of the most famous endurance race in the world will be the centenary and there will be a record number of cars aiming for victory,” the company said in a statement. “For its return to the great international scene there can be no more difficult challenge and Isotta Fraschini will not shy away from this confrontation, the most appropriate to its coat of arms.”
Autosport says that Isotta Fraschini wants to follow up its Le Mans competitor with a road-legal, two-seat hypercar developed out of the race car, as well as a line of other production models.
