After being first spotted by GT REPORT during testing at Imola, the McLaren MCL-HY made its global public debut at the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed.
2025 Formula One World Champion Lando Norris and McLaren Driver Development Programme member Grégoire Saucy drove the prototype up the Goodwood hill on Friday and Saturday, giving fans their first opportunity to see and hear McLaren’s future FIA World Endurance Championship challenger in action.
The MCL-HY appeared in a Bruce McLaren-inspired test livery and arrived at Goodwood only a few months into its development programme. Powered by a twin-turbocharged V6 engine, the car is being prepared for McLaren’s return to the top class of endurance racing in 2027.
Its appearance at the Festival was only confirmed at a late stage due to the demands of the testing programme.
“The Goodwood Festival of Speed is the greatest car show on Earth, so it made sense for us to have this on our radar,” said McLaren Hypercar Team Principal James Barclay. “But the truth is, it’s extremely early in our test programme so it was very lightly pencilled in.
“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.”
Norris drove the car during its first public run on Friday and described the opportunity as an early taste of McLaren’s journey back to Le Mans.
“It’s always an absolute pleasure to be here, and to drive the MCL-HY on its Goodwood debut was an honour,” he said. “It’s a big project for McLaren obviously to start its journey towards Le Mans, and I got to have a little taste already, which was a lot of fun and very special.
“I would have liked to push the car a little more – it’s a bit daunting to do that at Goodwood – but one day, you never know, maybe I’ll get to drive it on a racetrack and really see what it can do.”
The MCL-HY will become McLaren’s first challenger for overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans since the McLaren F1 GTR won the race on its debut in 1995.
The Hypercar formed part of a significant McLaren presence at Goodwood. Norris also drove the McLaren MCL60 Formula One car, BMW brought its 1997 McLaren F1 GTR ‘Long Tail’ and James Hunt’s 1976 World Championship winning McLaren-Cosworth M23D. Lanzante, meanwhile, brought its modded McLaren P1 HDK and own McLaren F1-inspired Lanzante 95-59.
Following its demonstration runs, the MCL-HY returned to testing as McLaren continues preparations for its World Endurance Championship and Le Mans debut.
Photos by Michal Pospisil
Full 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed gallery
Interview with JJ Lehto on his 1995 Le Mans victory with the McLaren F1 GTR
