Road-going supercars to be allowed under 2020/21 WEC hypercar rules
Road-going supercars will be allowed to enter the new hypercar concept class due to come into force for the 2020/21 World Endurance Championship
The change in the rules for the new category published last December will permit cars such as the Aston Martin Valkyrie and the McLaren Senna to compete against a new breed of prototype incorporating only styling cues from road-going machinery.
The move was rubber stamped at Thursday's FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris after intense lobbying from a group of manufacturers known to include Aston and McLaren, as well as Ferrari.
The WMSC bulletin said that there would be an "expansion of the 2020 LMP technical regulations concept to allow a 'hypercar' developed from the road cars sold by the manufacturers to enter, while preserving the previously-approved regulatory format".
It added that "this expansion is designed to enable additional manufacturers to enter the championship".
No further information has been revealed and it remains unclear how they road-based cars will be incorporated into the regulations.
The change in the rules has come at a time when no major car maker has committed to the original version of the new regulations.
Toyota has expressed an intent to remain in the top division of the WEC when the hypercar concept rules come on stream next autumn, without making an official confirmation.
Aston Martin has unveiled two new supercar concepts at the Geneva motor show this week.
One, the AM-RB 003, is dubbed the 'son of Valkyrie' and is being developed in conjunction with Red Bull Technologies, and another, the Vanquish Vision Concept, paves the way for the first mid-engined Aston Martin production car.
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