The new Ferrari Le Mans Hypercar that will take the Italian manufacturer back to the pinnacle of sportscar racing in next year's FIA World Endurance Championship has been named the 499P.

The type number of the LMH hybrid prototype was revealed along with the livery in which it will race in the 2023 WEC, as well as the configuration of the car's internal combustion engine, on its official launch at Imola on Saturday evening.

The 499P nomenclature follows a naming tradition that dates back to the earliest Ferraris: 499 is the capacity in cubic centimetres of one cylinder of the car's three-litre V6 twin-turbo powerplant, while the 'P' stands for prototype.

The LMH's V6 has the same 120-degree architecture as the engine in the new 296 GT3 launched in July, but is an all-new design.

"It is not the same engine," said Ferdinando Cannizzo, head of design and development at Ferrari's Attivita Sportive GT sportscar racing department.

"It is the same architecture as the 296, but it is a stressed engine, which means the structure has to be totally different.

"Selecting the V6 was definitely the right path to follow considering the way our range of road cars is moving - it was natural to go that route.

"But it wasn't a compromise because a V6 is small, light and very compact: this gives an advantage in packaging, weight distribution and centre of gravity."

The colour scheme in which the 499P was unveiled at Ferrari's Finali Mondiali - the world finals for its one-make challenge series - tips its hat to the last prototype campaign mounted by the factory.

The predominantly red livery with yellow trimming is reminiscent of the lead Ferrari 312PB entered through the 1972 and '73 World Championship for Makes seasons for Jacky Ickx, Brian Redman and Arturo Merzario among others.

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