Its performance and reliability versus rival LMP2 sports cars has allowed the 07 to become the de facto number one option for prospective racing teams, finding more buyers every year since its launch, including those switching away from other brands.[6][7][8] Since first launching in 2017, nearly all teams competing in series featuring an LMP2 class or similar have used the Oreca 07.[9] Over 140 Oreca 07s have been developed by Oreca in-house.[10]
The preparation of the prototype traces back to the development of theOreca 05. The 05 was developed with the consideration of what the factory knew about the new technical rules for the LMP2 class in theFIA World Endurance Championship for 2017. Taking prior knowledge from the Oreca 05's performance into account, Oreca decided to develop a new car and base it around the predecessor. Their goal was to maximize the performance by focusing on the energy and resource usage. The team opted to use this strategy not only to build a car based on a proven predecessor, but also to allow teams update their Oreca 05 sports cars within financial reason. The chassis of the Oreca 07 is mainly based on the 05, with its monocoque taking less of a priority to develop. The Oreca 07 came equipped with aGibson GK428V8 engine producing 600 hp (450 kW; 610 PS).[3][11] Years later in 2020, power output was decreased by 60 hp following the announcement of theLe Mans Hypercar regulations.[12][13]
The car performed its first factory shakedown test in late October 2016 atCircuit Paul Ricard.[11]
As a result of Oreca's development direction, the 07 quickly became the most dominant car in its class in 2017. After the2017 24 Hours of Le Mans, the car's performance difference against the field prompted theAutomobile Club de l'Ouest to allow the rival LMP2 brands,Dallara,Ligier, andRiley/Multimatic, to create extensive upgrade packages to match the performance of the Oreca 07 while also preventing Oreca from doing so in the process.[14] Despite attempts to prevent Oreca from improving upon the 07, it continued to succeed as a chassis, which has also resulted in teams heavily favouring Oreca over other brands when selecting a chassis to compete with inLMP2 racing.[9]
Russian manufacturerAurus Motors entered a partnership withG-Drive Racing in 2019 to compete in theEuropean Le Mans Series using a rebranded Oreca 07, known as theAurus 01. The 01 carries Aurus branding, but is technically identical to the Oreca 07, using the same chassis and internals.[22] G-Drive and Aurus raced the 01 for three years, scoring four victories, before withdrawing amid sanctions from theFIA following theRussian invasion of Ukraine.[23]
TheRebellion R13 was a variant of the Oreca 07, built by Oreca on behalf ofSwiss-based teamRebellion Racing to race in theLMP1 class.[24] It would later be renamed byAlpine to the Alpine A480 when it was rebadged to run in grandfathered condition in theHypercar class in2021 and2022.[25] Both the R13 and A480 routinely competed againstToyota in four seasons of competition for the overallFIA World Endurance Championship titles, finishing in 2nd overall in all four occasions across both iterations. The renamed A480 variant was succeeded by theAlpine A424 two years later.[26]
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