Project Motor Racing Reunites Endurance Racing’s Wildest Eras at Fuji

Three hybrid monsters from one of Le Mans' most technologically extravagant eras. Six brutal IMSA prototypes from the 1980s. Two generations of LMP2 machinery. And Fuji Speedway recreated on both sides of six decades of motorsport history. Project Motor Racing's World Endurance Pack launches on November 10 with 11 cars across four new classes, making it the largest DLC released for Straight4 Studios' racing simulator so far.

The pack is not really about one period of endurance racing. That is its entire appeal. Audi, Porsche and Toyota represent the extraordinary LMP1 hybrid arms race of 2016, the fictional Olivera prototypes bridge two different interpretations of LMP2, and six GTP machines transport players back to an American championship where wildly different manufacturers attacked the same regulations with enormous power and very little interest in subtlety. Holding everything together is Fuji Speedway, presented both as the modern circuit and as the substantially more intimidating track that opened in 1966.

The 2016 LMP1 trio may be the most important addition in the entire pack

The 2016 Audi R18, Porsche 919 Hybrid and Toyota TS050 Hybrid arrive together as a complete snapshot of an era that endurance racing still has not really replicated. LMP1-H regulations encouraged manufacturers to combine internal-combustion engines with enormously sophisticated energy-recovery systems while managing fuel allocation, hybrid deployment and aerodynamic efficiency over races lasting six, twelve or twenty-four hours.

What made the period special was that Audi, Porsche and Toyota arrived at the same problem with radically different solutions. Audi retained diesel power with its redesigned R18, Porsche continued developing its compact turbocharged V4 919 Hybrid, and Toyota abandoned the naturally aspirated architecture of the TS040 for a new twin-turbocharged V6 and lithium-ion hybrid system in the TS050.

All three were tremendously fast. None felt conceptually identical.

That should make their arrival particularly valuable in a simulator because the differences extend beyond bodywork and manufacturer branding. Engine delivery, hybrid deployment, drivetrain behaviour and aerodynamic philosophy should give each machine its own character, providing a reason to learn all three instead of simply choosing whichever produces the quickest leaderboard time.

Audi’s final R18 was almost an entirely new car

The 2016 Audi R18 was technically the continuation of a name Audi had already used for several years, but the manufacturer itself described the car as effectively redesigned from scratch. Its aerodynamics were radically revised, its safety cell changed, the hybrid system moved to lithium-ion battery storage and Audi continued developing the V6 TDI diesel that had become one of its defining endurance-racing technologies.

It was also the most powerful and fuel-efficient racing car Audi had built at the time. The R18 competed in the 6 MJ hybrid category and combined its front-axle energy recovery with the diesel engine driving the rear wheels, producing an unusual interpretation of hybrid all-wheel-drive performance.

There is some historical weight behind including this exact version. 2016 became Audi's final season in top-class prototype racing before the manufacturer ended its long-running LMP1 programme. A lineage that had accumulated 13 Le Mans victories between 2000 and 2014 effectively ended with this machine.

Project Motor Racing is therefore not simply adding another Audi prototype. It is adding the final chapter of one of endurance racing's most successful manufacturer programmes.

The Porsche 919 Hybrid represents the team everyone else had to beat

The Porsche 919 Hybrid enters the pack from the opposite direction. Porsche arrived in 2016 as defending Le Mans winner and reigning manufacturers' and drivers' World Champion, having already transformed the 919 from an ambitious 2014 project into the benchmark of the category.

Its compact 2.0-litre turbocharged V4 worked alongside two energy-recovery systems: one harvesting under braking at the front axle and another recovering energy from exhaust gases. The 2016 evolution improved the electric drive, battery cells, aerodynamics and efficiency without abandoning the fundamental architecture that had already proven successful.

That stability paid off. Porsche won Le Mans again in 2016 after Toyota's extraordinary late heartbreak and subsequently secured another WEC manufacturers' championship before the season ended.

For sim racers, the 919 also represents a very different philosophy from Audi. Both deploy electrical energy through the front axle and combustion power through the rear, but the lightweight turbo petrol V4 and Porsche's hybrid architecture create a fundamentally different package from the R18's diesel approach.

Toyota’s TS050 carries one of endurance racing’s most painful stories

Then there is the Toyota TS050 Hybrid.

Toyota completely reworked its prototype for 2016, replacing the TS040's naturally aspirated V8 and supercapacitor system with a 2.4-litre twin-turbocharged V6, lithium-ion batteries and electric motor-generators at both axles. Combined output exceeded 1,000 horsepower.

It almost produced one of Toyota's greatest victories immediately.

The number 5 TS050 led the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans into the final minutes before suffering the famous failure that left Kazuki Nakajima stranded on the start-finish straight with victory effectively within sight. Porsche inherited the win in one of the cruellest endings Le Mans has ever produced.

Toyota did not have to wait long for redemption of a different kind. At Fuji Speedway in October 2016, the number 6 TS050 won a remarkable six-hour race by only 1.439 seconds over Audi, with Porsche finishing third.

That fact makes Straight4's choice of Fuji particularly clever. The pack does not merely place three historically related LMP1 cars onto an arbitrary new circuit. It recreates a venue where the exact three manufacturers represented here produced one of the closest and most competitive races of that season.

LMP2 and LMP2 EVO provide the bridge between eras

The pack's prototype story does not end with the manufacturer hybrids. LMP2 and LMP2 EVO become two additional classes, represented by the 2013 Olivera P2-13 and 2026 Olivera P2-26 EVO respectively.

Unlike the licensed Audi, Porsche and Toyota machinery, these cars are Straight4's own interpretation of different generations of cost-controlled prototype racing. That distinction gives the developers more freedom to represent the philosophy of each era without tying the class to one specific licensed chassis.

The 2013 P2-13 represents the period when LMP2 had already established itself as a serious international prototype category but still allowed considerably more variety in chassis and engine combinations than later regulations. The 2026 P2-26 EVO brings the concept forward into a more contemporary interpretation built around close competition, controlled costs and predictable performance.

Straight4 describes both around precision, strategy and teamwork rather than headline horsepower. That creates useful contrast with LMP1 and GTP: the goal is not necessarily to overpower the circuit but to maintain momentum, execute cleanly and extract lap time from a tightly controlled package.

The GTP lineup is six different flavours of 1980s madness

If LMP1 represents engineering sophistication, the six-car GTP class represents an era where prototype racing often looked considerably more violent.

The World Endurance Pack includes the 1986 BMW March GTP, 1986 Chevrolet Corvette C4 GTP, 1986 Ford Probe GTP, 1988 Jaguar XJR-9 GTP, 1988 Nissan GTP SX-Turbo and 1988 Porsche 962 GTP. It is an unusually broad selection from IMSA's prototype golden age, when manufacturers could arrive with dramatically different engines, chassis concepts and aerodynamic interpretations while chasing the same overall victories.

These are not six variants of one homologated formula. The appeal comes from the differences.

BMW's machine was based around a March 86G chassis. Chevrolet's Corvette GTP used prototype architecture wrapped in bodywork deliberately connected to the Corvette road-car identity. Ford's Probe programme pursued another manufacturer-specific interpretation. Jaguar brought its enormous naturally aspirated V12 heritage into the XJR family. Nissan's turbocharged GTP ZX-Turbo evolved into the car that finally broke Porsche's long run at the top of American prototype racing. And the Porsche 962 became one of the defining endurance prototypes of the entire decade.

Putting them together should create one of the most diverse fields currently available in Project Motor Racing.

The Nissan represents the moment Porsche finally found its real challenger

The Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo is particularly important within that group. Developed with Electramotive, the programme initially struggled before becoming one of IMSA's dominant forces.

By 1988, Geoff Brabham had put together an extraordinary eight-race winning streak and captured the drivers' championship. Nissan narrowly missed the manufacturers' title that year but completed the job in 1989, ending Porsche's long period at the top.

That history gives the Nissan-Porsche rivalry genuine weight inside the game. The 962 is not simply another famous old prototype parked beside the ZX-Turbo. It is the benchmark Nissan spent years trying to beat.

That kind of context is exactly what a historical racing simulator can exploit. Players can recreate races that happened, build championships that never did or simply discover why cars from the same category could feel so different behind the wheel.

The Jaguar XJR-9 brings another endurance legend into the fight

The 1988 Jaguar XJR-9 adds another completely different personality. Developed by Tom Walkinshaw Racing and designed by Tony Southgate, it used Jaguar's enormous 7.0-litre V12 and became one of the most recognisable Group C and IMSA prototypes of the period.

Its 1988 season included victories at both Daytona and Le Mans in different specifications, making the XJR-9 one of the definitive sports prototypes of that year.

Against turbocharged rivals such as the Porsche and Nissan, that naturally aspirated V12 should deliver a very different soundtrack and power delivery. This is where the World Endurance Pack's selection becomes more interesting than a simple list of famous names: it creates a class where players can compare completely different engineering philosophies under the same broad set of competitive expectations.

Fuji 1966 may be more frightening than any of the cars

Straight4 could probably have sold the modern Fuji Speedway by itself as a meaningful circuit addition, but the historical recreation is what makes the pack distinctive.

Fuji opened in 1966, at a point when Japanese motorsport was still establishing the infrastructure that would eventually support one of the world's largest automotive industries. The original design was very different from the modern circuit, most famously because of its heavily banked first corner.

That banking was not a decorative historical detail. It was fast, severe and dangerous enough to become one of the defining characteristics of early Fuji. The recreated 1966 version brings it back, giving Project Motor Racing players access to a part of the circuit that disappeared from modern competition decades ago.

Straight4 says the historic version has four different layouts, with two capable of being raced in reverse. The current Fuji adds another two layouts, bringing the total to six.

Recreating old Fuji required more than looking at modern satellite imagery

The 1966 track is also notable because Straight4 worked with Fuji International Speedway Co., Ltd. to recreate it. The developer specifically credits that collaboration as instrumental in producing an authentic digital version of the original circuit.

Historical circuit reconstruction is difficult for reasons modern laser-scanned tracks do not face. Buildings disappear. Terrain is altered. Safety work changes embankments. Corners are removed or reshaped. Photographic documentation can be incomplete, and even accurate maps do not necessarily explain elevation, surface detail or how a piece of road felt at racing speed.

Fuji underwent a major redevelopment before reopening in 2005, meaning the modern facility cannot simply be stripped of its current buildings and barriers to produce an accurate 1966 version.

That makes the historical circuit one of the pack's most valuable additions from a preservation perspective. Cars can often survive in museums or private collections. Race tracks change permanently.

A simulator can put the missing version back.

Modern Fuji completes the story rather than replacing it

The current layout provides the other half of that comparison. Modern Fuji retains its famous kilometre-plus main straight but transitions into a much more technical final sector, producing a circuit where low drag, traction and setup compromises all matter.

It is particularly suitable for endurance prototypes because those compromises expose differences between cars. A low-downforce configuration can benefit the huge straight but make the final sector increasingly difficult, while more aerodynamic load helps through slower and medium-speed corners at the expense of maximum velocity.

The venue's relationship with endurance racing is also long established. Fuji became a regular World Endurance Championship stop, and Toyota's home connection made the six-hour race one of the most important events on the manufacturer's calendar.

Reuniting the 2016 R18, 919 and TS050 there effectively creates a digital time capsule of one of WEC's strongest manufacturer eras.

This is Project Motor Racing’s biggest DLC yet

Straight4 describes the World Endurance Pack as the largest DLC released for Project Motor Racing so far. Eleven cars, four new classes and two eras of Fuji make that claim fairly straightforward.

It also closes out the principal content sequence of the game's Year 1 Season Pass, following the Group 5 Revival Pack, Japanese Prototypes Pack, GT Icons Pack and September's V8 Power Pack. The Season Pass includes World Endurance Pack alongside those previous releases, while the DLC can also be purchased independently.

The standalone pack is currently listed at €19.99, with selected stores offering a 10% pre-order discount that reduces it to €17.99 ahead of launch. The Year 1 Season Pass remains €49.99 and is positioned as the cheaper route for players who want the full collection of Year 1 content rather than buying each pack separately.

Eleven cars is important, but four genuinely different classes matter more

The strongest aspect of this announcement is not the raw vehicle count. Project Motor Racing could have reached 11 cars by releasing another selection of machines that all behaved roughly the same.

Instead, the pack creates four very different reasons to drive.

LMP1 is about managing extremely sophisticated hybrid prototypes at the peak of manufacturer spending. LMP2 represents a more traditional cost-controlled prototype. LMP2 EVO moves that philosophy forward into a modern interpretation. GTP throws players into the much rougher world of 1980s American prototype racing.

Even within those classes, the cars are deliberately diverse.

That should give World Endurance Pack significantly more longevity than content designed around one narrow era. A player interested in modern WEC history gets the 2016 manufacturer battle. Someone interested in classic American endurance racing effectively receives an entire six-car field. Fuji then provides both a historically appropriate test track and a way of experiencing how circuit design itself changed across six decades.

November 10 is going to be a very long day at Fuji

Project Motor Racing: World Endurance Pack launches on November 10, 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. It adds the 2016 Audi R18, Porsche 919 Hybrid and Toyota TS050 Hybrid; the Olivera P2-13 and P2-26 EVO; six IMSA GTP machines; and modern and historic versions of Fuji Speedway with six layouts in total.

There is an obvious headline in saying Project Motor Racing is adding 11 endurance cars.

The more interesting achievement is that those cars span approximately forty years of radically different ideas about how an endurance prototype should work.

Turbo diesels and V4 hybrids. V16-style technical ambition distilled through energy deployment and fuel strategy. Huge naturally aspirated V12s. Turbocharged American GTP weapons. Cost-controlled LMP2 machinery. Modern Fuji and the version where Turn 1 looked like it belonged on an oval.

World Endurance Pack is not one era of endurance racing. It is several of its best arguments happening at the same circuit.