The Isotta Fraschini Tipo 6 LMH Competizione (also known as the Tipo 6 LMH-C) is a

sports prototype A sports prototype, sometimes referred to simply as a prototype, is a type of Auto racing, race car that is used in high-level categories of sports car racing. They are purpose-built auto-sports race cars, as opposed to production-car based or s ...

developed by

Isotta Fraschini Isotta Fraschini () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer, also producing trucks, as well as engines for marine and aviation use. Founded in Milan, Italy, in 1900 by Cesare Isotta and the brothers Vincenzo, Antonio, and Oreste Fraschini, in 195 ...

and for the

Le Mans Hypercar A Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) is a type of sports prototype race car that competes alongside LMDh entries in the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship. It also competes in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class of the IMSA SportsC ...

class to compete in the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is a world championship for automobile endurance racing organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The se ...

. Other versions were made, including a track day version and a road version, respectively called the Tipo 6 LMH Pista and Tipo 6 LMH Strada.

Background

Isotta Fraschini first announced that the Tipo 6 LMH Competizione would be created for competition in the

class in the fall of 2022. The car was designed with support from Michelotto, with Williams Advanced Engineering developing the aero package. The car is powered by a

HWA () are a type of traditional Korean boot, which, along with , is a subdivision of Korean shoes. The refers to all kind of shoes that do not go up to the ankle. are usually made of leather, and artisans who make the shoes are called . were ...

-tuned 3.0-liter 90-degree turbocharged

V6 engine A V6 engine is a six- cylinder piston engine where the cylinders and cylinder blocks share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V6 engines were designed and produced independently by Marmon Motor Car Company, ...

and features a front axle-mounted electric motor, together producing around . The car was initially planned to be running alongside

Vector Sport Vector Sport is a British sports car racing team currently competing in the European Le Mans Series. Founded in 2021 by Gary Holland, a former team manager at Jota Sport and Dragon Racing, the Silverstone-based outfit has focused its on-track op ...

, but later parted ways after Vector Sport cited that Isotta Fraschini had failed to provide vehicle data. The following day, Isotta Fraschini announced that they would be running the

2024 FIA World Endurance Championship The 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship was the twelfth season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The s ...

with

Duqueine Team Duqueine Team, formerly known as Duqueine Engineering, is a French sports car racing team founded in 2014. The team currently competes in the European Le Mans Series in LMP2. They previously operated Isotta Fraschini's Hypercar entry in the FIA ...

Competition history

The Tipo 6 LMH Competizione officially debuted at the 2024 Qatar 1812 km. As the most budget-limited team on the Hypercar grid that year, the car was down on pace from the rest of the Hypercar field. At

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

, the car ran a clean race and managed to finish, though it was down on pace, finishing 7 laps down on the next-best placed Hypercar. Thanks to its reliability, however, only encountering a few issues, it beat fellow series newcomers

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

and

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

, due to the latter's mechanical issues and accidents, which left the Isotta Fraschini in 14th. In

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, the car was given the largest BoP boost, and in the hands of

Jean-Karl Vernay Jean-Karl "J. K." Vernay (born 31 October 1987) is a French professional racing driver. He was 2010 Indy Lights and 2017 TCR International Series champion. He has won races at the World Touring Car Cup, where he finished fifth in 2018 and won th ...

, the car leapfrogged from 19th to 15th in the opening laps. Vernay retained the position for the first 30 minutes although the car ultimately retired with an engine failure. Prior to the 2024 Lone Star Le Mans, Isotta Fraschini announced their withdrawal from the

on 21 August 2024 due to a dispute with Duqueine, but stressed that they expect to return to the WEC in 2025. They also stated that they would be restructuring their motorsport programme and re-allocating their resources to expanding their road car division.

Other versions

Tipo 6 LMH Pista

Isotta Fraschini also developed a track day version of Tipo 6 LMH, the Tipo 6 LMH Pista, an unrestricted version of the Tipo 6 Competizione meant for track only use.

Tipo 6 LMH Strada

In November 2023, Isotta Fraschini unveiled the Tipo 6 LMH Strada. A street legal version of the Tipo 6 LMH, featuring a 3.0-liter V6 engine as well as a hybrid system, together producing . The car is a single seater which will be priced for about 3.25 million euros. Only 12 of these cars will be produced.

Racing results

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

(key) Races in bold indicates

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...

. Races in ''italics'' indicates fastest lap.

References

{{WEC cars 2024, state=collapsed Isotta Fraschini Isotta Fraschini vehicles Cars introduced in 2023 Le Mans Hypercars Sports prototypes Rear mid-engine, all-wheel-drive vehicles