Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn will return to the top tier of prototype sports car racing in 2027, and the manufacturer revealed two key pieces of its program — the chassis manufacturer and the program manager — during the leadup to last weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans sportscar race.
Ford President and CEO Jim Farley, who raced in the Mustang Challenge contest last weekend in France, announced Ford will be partnering with French chassis supplier ORECA Motorsports for the forthcoming 2027 Hypercar program.
Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance, named veteran motorsports director Dan Sayers as the WEC Hypercar program manager joining Ford from his current role as program director at Red Bull Ford Powertrains.
“Bringing Ford back to the top class at Le Mans has always been a dream for many of us including our executive chair, Bill Ford,” Farley says. “To be able to partner with ORECA is a proud moment for Ford. We are coming back to Le Mans to win, and we aren’t making that a secret.
“On Sunday, it will be exactly 56 years since we last took the top step of the overall podium here. That is long enough. In 2027, we are coming with the same level of expectation, and we are entrusting ORECA to help us take on Ferrari and the other top-class teams as we did back in the 1960s.”
Class rules mandate that one of four manufacturers supply the chassis on which Ford can build its contender for the top step at Le Mans. Competing in the Hypercar class, the Ford-powered, Ford-built, and Ford-raced prototype will make its Le Mans debut in the event’s 95th running in June 2027.
Founded in 1973 by Hugues de Chaunac, ORECA Motorsport designs, assembles, develops, and fine-tunes chassis, engines, and system architectures. It has notched nearly 240 overall victories in LMP2 and 10 consecutive wins at the Le Mans 24 Hours.
“We are honored that Ford has chosen ORECA to design the future WEC Hypercar for their return to the top tier of endurance racing” says Hugues de Chaunac, president of the ORECA Group.
“This strategic partnership is a key part of our ongoing commitment to the highest level of racing and to the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. We are excited to channel all our energy, expertise, and enthusiasm into this ambitious project. I would like to thank Bill Ford, Jim Farley, and Mark Rushbrook for their trust. They can count on the full engagement of all our teams around the world.”
Sayers played an instrumental part in the power unit program for the new 2026 F1 regulations from the very beginning.
Prior to that, he spent 10 years at Prodrive (Aston Martin Racing), starting in GT4, progressing to GT3, and leading the design and development of the V12 Vantage before becoming technical director and having ultimate responsibility for all motorsport programs, including the engine department. Sayers also has worked at Ricardo where he designed and developed motorsport transmissions for programs as diverse as LMP1 to Dakar as well as having worked in WRC with a number of different OEMs.
“Ford Performance is taking on so many different challenges around the racing world, but to lead Ford back to its spiritual home at Le Mans was a challenge I could not turn down,” Sayers says. “Having previously led Aston Martin to multiple Le Mans class victories, the opportunity to take overall honors with Ford is something very special. I have loved working on the F1 program with Red Bull Ford Powertrains, so this feels a lot like joining a different part of the same family.”
Rushbrook says, “The chassis partner and the program head for any major factory program are foundational elements. ORECA and Dan Sayers give us the right platform to build this entire program. We have all been working closely since these decisions were made, and every step has proven correct. We are two years away from sitting on the grid at Le Mans with our Ford WEC Hypercar program and we now have two of the key building blocks to a successful return to prototype racing at this great race.”
In Other Ford News: Ford has started mass assembly of vehicle drive battery packs for exclusive use in Capri 1 and Explorer 2 at its Cologne plant in Germany. Part of a $2 billion investment, the fully digitized new facility ensures high-quality standards, efficiency, and a significant reduction in transportation, according to Volker Eis is corporate communications manager at Ford in Europe.
The facility also ensures full alignment with vehicle assembly at the nearby Cologne Electric Vehicle Center.
The new facility also supports the continuous development of the skills and expertise of the Ford workforce as part of the transformation of the plant into a digitized Factory of the Future.
The 180 newly installed robots weld, glue, and screw the battery housing together and equip it with up to 12 battery modules.
A total of around 2,775 individual parts are assembled into a battery pack on the 2 km-long highly automated production line.
The new battery facility also represents another step in Ford’s journey toward an electric future, updating manufacturing processes and facilities, and further expanding its capability in Europe, the automaker says.
