Isotta Fraschini reveals plans for 2023 WEC Hypercar entry

The owners of the pre-World War 2 luxury car maker, which won the Targa Florio road race in 1908, have announced that they are working on a project with Michelotto, Ferrari’s long-time partner in GT racing.

A launch of the Isotta Fraschini hybrid prototype is planned for next February with the aim of giving the car its race debut in the WEC's third round at Spa in April, ahead of the Le Mans 24 Hours in June.

The WEC programme and an attack on Le Mans will be used to relaunch a brand that has been inactive since the late 1940s, according to Isotta Frashini’s statement. 

“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,” it read.

“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.”

The Isotta Fraschini LMH will be followed in “the medium term” by a line of road cars, including a two-seater hypercar developed out of the WEC contender and GT car. 

The LMH will be powered by a three-litre V6 turbocharged engine and a front-axle hybrid system, according to Isotta Fraschini’s statement. 

Michelotto, which developed a line of GT machinery with Ferrari right up to the current 488 GTE and GT3 contenders, will mastermind the development of the LMH. 

The Padua-based company’s deal with Isotta Fraschini follows French motorsport group ORECA winning the tender to build the new Ferrari 296 GT3 launched earlier this year.

Michelotto built the current Ferrari 488 GTE and GT3 contenders and has been tasked with developing the new Isotta Fraschini hypercar

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Michelotto’s previous experience in the prototype field includes building a line of Ferrari 333SPs in the late 1990s.

The company was described as the “ideal partner for high-tech products, tailor-made solutions and development of automotive projects” in Isotta Fraschini’s announcement.

It is understood that a deal has been done with Williams to use its windtunnel to develop the car. 

No details have been released as yet on how many cars will be run or the structure of the team or potential drivers.

The Italian marque's WEC programme will be dependent on it gaining an entry or entries in the Hypercar class, which will grow exponentially for next year with the arrival of Ferrari, Porsche and Cadillac.

There should be at least 11 cars in the division whether or not Glickenhaus decides to continue with its project or ByKolles is granted an entry with its Vanwall Vandervell LMH.

Isotta Fraschini built luxury limousines driven by the likes of film star Rudolf Valentino in the 1920s and ‘30s. It continued to make buses and marine engines after production of cars stopped and was subsequently incorporated into a wider industrial conglomerate. 

The group behind the relaunch of the brand is a separate entity, which holds the rights to use the Isotta Fraschini name in the automotive sector. 

The present owners, who have yet to go public on their identity, are unconnected with an attempted relaunch of the marque in the late-1990s.