Ferrari has completed the first crucial test of its 499P Evo at Monza, beginning the track development programme for the extensively updated Hypercar ahead of the 2027 FIA World Endurance Championship season. Even beneath a camouflage livery, the revised bodywork and major aerodynamic changes were clearly visible.
The test took place on the same day that Barcelona and, most notably, Monza were announced as the replacement events for Qatar and Bahrain at the end of the 2026 WEC season. The Italian circuit therefore provided the ideal setting for Ferrari and racing partner AF Corse to exploit the summer break and complete the first kilometres with the new evolution of the 499P.
Ferrari’s Hypercar won three consecutive editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans between 2023 and 2025. Last season, it also secured both the manufacturers’ and drivers’ world championships in the premier WEC category, completing a historic campaign for the 499P and the Ferrari endurance programme. Following a transitional 2026 season, Ferrari and AF Corse have now decided to take a significant step forward, with the scale of the changes immediately apparent.
Ferrari 499P Evo built around a long-term WEC plan
The working group coordinated by Antonello Coletta has designed a Hypercar intended to remain competitive for four seasons while using only one of the five Evo Jokers made available under the regulations. After updating the brake ducts at Interlagos in 2024, Ferrari chose to preserve its development tokens and concentrate them primarily on the Evo specification.
This approach differs from the strategies followed by BMW, Cadillac and Toyota, which introduced their respective evolutions during 2026. Ferrari instead elected to wait an additional year before approving the major update to its Hypercar, a decision already examined through the team’s 499P Evo Joker development strategy.
The introduction of new Michelin tyres was one reason behind the delay. Ferrari also needed to repeat the homologation process because WEC aerodynamic testing moved from Sauber’s wind tunnel, now operated by Audi, to the Windshear facility in North Carolina. These factors convinced the Italian manufacturer to postpone the extensive update until 2027.
Major Ferrari 499P Evo changes visible beneath camouflage
With Monza now scheduled to host the final round of the WEC season, the circuit became the perfect venue for Ferrari to begin testing the 499P Evo during the summer break. Despite the camouflage livery, several substantial bodywork modifications could be identified.
The front of the Hypercar has been redesigned and features more aggressive aerodynamic profiles. Changes are also visible around the sidepods, rear wing and diffuser, demonstrating the breadth of the work completed on the 2027 package.
Ferrari had already been preparing for the impact of the new Michelin tyres and revised wind-tunnel homologation process, both of which played an important role in determining the timing and direction of the Evo project.
Four Ferrari drivers share the Monza testing programme
Antonio Fuoco, Antonio Giovinazzi, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Miguel Molina all took turns behind the wheel of Ferrari’s Hypercar at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. The development programme is continuing through the assessment, testing and validation of numerous technical and aerodynamic solutions, with the objective of defining the definitive configuration of the 499P Evo.
These test sessions represent a fundamental stage in the development process. They allow Ferrari’s engineers to collect valuable data on the car’s behaviour and compare the findings gathered on track with the results produced by simulations and test-bench work.
It is a progressive and methodical programme that will keep several design options open until the 499P Evo reaches its final homologation specification.
Peugeot tests radically revised 9X8 at Le Castellet
Ferrari is not the only manufacturer working on a major Hypercar evolution. Taking advantage of concessions from the Automobile Club de l’Ouest and the FIA, which allocate additional development tokens to the manufacturers facing the greatest difficulties, Peugeot has once again decided to revise its 9X8 project.
Peugeot arrived at Le Castellet with an LMH car that is radically different from the current specification, which has competed since Imola in 2024. Leaked photographs show shapes and design principles more closely aligned with concepts already adopted by other manufacturers, moving away from the original but relatively uncompetitive philosophy upon which Peugeot based the two previous versions of the 9X8.
Among the various changes, the particularly low rear wing stands out. Its design appears to offer a distant visual reference to the wing fitted to the Peugeot 905 that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1992 and 1993.
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