While SRT41’s planned ‘Garage 56’ effort to the 2020 Le Mans 24 Hours has been postponed, plans have surfaced for a 2021 entry from all-French outfit VISION to run in the centenary edition of the French endurance classic with a biomethane-powered Hypercar.
VISION, which started this project four years ago, is working under the management of project co-founder Thomas Castex, who says that it plans to develop a Hypercar with “
The drive to refine the company’s concept has drawn in a number of familiar names, with ex-WR engineer Thibault Dejardin among those involved. PSA concept car creator Thibault Granier and French racing drivers Paul Loup Chatin and Matthieu Vaixiviere also feature on the list of associated parties. Michelin is also known to have an interest in the project and will provide R&D support.
The proposed engine for VISION’s Hypercar is broadly inspired by the biomethane unit that Welter Racing had developed for the abandoned 2017 GGE 56 car, which was due to run at Le Mans back in 2017 before the project hit financial trouble.
The chances of the project succeeding are dictated by the level of funding it can attract. The target for VISION is to have the car developed and racing on a budget of 10-12 million Euros. Caltex is confident, but realistic: “It is hard to be listened to, there are so many projects out there like ours,” he said.
After competing at Le Mans, the company then plans to put the car into limited production, with 10-15 units due to be manufactured and sold from 2024/25.
This effort adds to a long line of Garage 56 projects throughout the past decade at Le Mans, which have had varying degrees of success. Thus far SRT41’s Frederic Sausset-led effort back in 2016 with an LMP2 Onroak-Morgan chassis adapted to allow Sausset (a quad-amputee) to race is the only Garage 56 entry to have made the finish of the 24 hours.
Source: Racer