Roger Penske has spent decades building teams capable of winning motorsport’s biggest races, but the 24 Hours of Le Mans remains one of the prizes that has eluded him. A renewed partnership with Cadillac could now offer him another opportunity to change that, with Team Penske reportedly closing in on a one-off Hypercar appearance before potentially taking over a much larger factory programme in 2028.

According to Sportscar365, multiple industry sources have confirmed that discussions are underway between Penske and General Motors over a Cadillac V-Series.R programme. A single-car entry for the 2027 Le Mans 24 Hours now appears “all but certain”, the report states, with the possibility of full-season efforts in the FIA World Endurance Championship and/or the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship from 2028.

Neither side has officially confirmed an agreement. GM declined to comment, while a Team Penske representative said there were “no comment or updates on 2028”.

The latest development marks a notable change from the situation reported by RACER in October. At the time, Penske was understood to be exploring a return to the WEC Hypercar category, but a senior team source said there was no concrete plan to compete in the championship in 2027.

The possibility of a standalone Le Mans entry had been discussed, although a programme was then considered unlikely to begin before 2028. Sportscar365’s November 9 report suggests those discussions have gathered considerable momentum.

The immediate attraction is obvious. Penske has never won Le Mans overall as a team owner, despite coming agonisingly close last year. The No. 6 Porsche 963 shared by Kévin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Matt Campbell finished second in 2025, just 14.084 seconds behind the winning No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P.

That result brought Penske within touching distance of the biggest prize in endurance racing, but also left unfinished business for the organisation.

Penske’s previous WEC involvement was built around Porsche. The American team operated the German manufacturer’s factory 963 programme in the championship from 2023 through 2025, before Porsche withdrew its works effort from the Hypercar category.

Penske continued running the factory Porsche 963s in IMSA’s GTP class, and that programme is expected to complete its current contractual cycle after the 2027 season. Sportscar365 reports that there are no plans to extend the partnership, with Porsche set to refocus its LMDh efforts on customer entries.

That timing gives the Cadillac discussions a natural opening. Penske’s IMSA organisation remains intact after running the two factory Porsche entries, making a switch to Cadillac machinery in North America comparatively straightforward.

A full WEC operation would be a considerably bigger undertaking. The team would need to rebuild its European base from the ground up, having retained only a handful of personnel at its Mannheim, Germany, facility after Porsche left the WEC at the end of 2025.

The proposed 2027 Le Mans appearance could bridge that gap. Sportscar365 understands that the car would likely be run from Penske’s Mooresville, North Carolina, base and would not be entered in a full-season championship.

That distinction is important because a car not competing in the WeatherTech Championship or an ACO-run series would normally not qualify for an invitation to Le Mans. However, Cadillac has reportedly been allocated four entries for the race, which it can distribute at its discretion. With Wayne Taylor Racing already ruling out a return to La Sarthe in 2027, a place could open up for Penske.

Cadillac itself enters these discussions after a successful 2026 campaign. The manufacturer secured the IMSA GTP manufacturers’ championship, while Action Express Racing’s No. 31 Whelen Cadillac won the team title and Jack Aitken secured the drivers’ crown.

The V-Series.R also ended the WEC season with victory at Monza, courtesy of the No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA crew. The manufacturer is expected to return to Le Mans in 2027 with its existing commitments, including JOTA’s two factory cars and Action Express Racing.

The longer-term reshuffle could be even more significant. Sportscar365 reports that Penske could potentially take over the factory WEC programme from Hertz Team JOTA, the IMSA effort from Wayne Taylor Racing, or even both from 2028. Contracts with Cadillac’s three current teams; JOTA, WTR and Action Express, are understood to run only through the end of 2027.

JOTA co-owner Sam Hignett would not clarify his team’s future, saying: “I would say we’re very happy and let’s leave it at that.” Wayne Taylor Racing, meanwhile, has a relationship with General Motors stretching back more than 20 years, meaning any change on the IMSA side would be far from a routine handover.

The 2030 Hypercar regulations provide another piece of context. The FIA, ACO and IMSA are working towards a single technical platform that will replace the current divide between LMH and LMDh rules. The proposed framework is intended to bring WEC and IMSA closer together, while retaining manufacturer freedom over powertrains and allowing either bespoke development or a common chassis route.

Manufacturers have broadly welcomed the direction, with BMW describing the framework as what the category needs to keep costs under control and endurance racing sustainable. These regulations are not the reason for a possible 2028 switch, but they underline the value of an organisation capable of competing at the top level on both sides of the Atlantic.

For now, the 2027 Le Mans entry is the clearest immediate target, while the wider factory programme remains subject to an agreement. Cadillac has a championship-winning prototype, and Penske brings the operational depth and experience of its Porsche years.

Whether the eventual arrangement involves one full-season programme or two, the prospect gives Roger Penske another serious opportunity to chase the one major endurance-racing victory still missing from his record.