Few motorsport incentives of the current day have enthusiasts as excited as the World Endurance Championship’s ‘Hypercar’ era — a new set of regulations designed to make the category’s top flight cars cheaper and more connected to a production car base.
Toyota recently unveiled its Hypercar contender. Peugeot too. And now pseudo-privateer squad ByKolles has unveiled its monster for the 2021 season — the PMC Project — in three different forms; road car (shown in green), a track car (silver), and the race car.
All three look more or less identical, with spectacular aero, a confined central cockpit, and low-slung ride height. The road-going version does away with the ginormous rear wing of the race and track car, as well as the central fin.
The most interesting thing about the ByKolles is its array of powertrains. While its Peugeot and Toyota rivals are hybrid based, ByKolles’ racing variant will be powered by a naturally aspirated V8 capped to 700hp (521kW). The track version, meanwhile, utilises a detuned version of the same V8, tweaked to produce 484kW.
One of the most fascinating things about the new hypercar is that it’s the road-going version that is the most powerful. It takes that V8 and tacks on a hybrid system, presumably making it more efficient and smooth in any form of daily commuting while adding a stack of grunt. ByKolles claims the road car will make 1000hp (745kW).
This also ensures it’s the heaviest of the three, with the firm targeting a build weight of 1000kg. The race car and track car, meanwhile, are set to weigh 1039kg and 950kg, respectively.
Although they only really exist in render form for the moment, the trio will come to life later this year. ByKolles is slated to run in the 2021 WEC Hypercar class later this year, alongside Toyota and its GR010 Hybrid and Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus and its 007. Peugeot’s entry will join the series in 2022.
