Just after the recent additions, Automobilista 2 has released a Le Mans update. Iconic Endurance races are already present in Automobilista 2, but Le Mans probably surpasses them all. The legendary Circuit de La Sarthe is scheduled for release on 27 December, with a range of new LMDh and GT3 cars from the year 2023. More historical and modern content related to Le Mans will follow later, but the modern track and cars are set to end 2023 in style. The release is scheduled for the end of 2023.

Circuit des 24h Du Mans & Endurance Pack Part 1 available soon!

With the latest 2023 update, Automobilista 2 takes a slightly different direction to make AMS2 as appealing to fans of Endurance racing as it already is to fans of modern and historic formula cars. The first step in this journey, as announced in the June dev update earlier this year, is nothing short of introducing the mecca of endurance racing in Automobilista 2: Le Mans.

The Legendary Circuit de La Sarthe

Of course, the circuit is exactly what you would expect from Le Mans. A 13.629-kilometre sprint over public roads and purpose-built race track in its current form, including all the scenery. Developer Reiza Studios is known for mimicking all the details and environments so well in their circuits. Besides the endurance circuit that hosts the Le Mans 24 Hours every year, the less popular Bugatti circuit is also included.

New Legendary Endurance Icons: Three Prototypes, Four GT3s

What would Le Mans be without top-tier prototypes to race at La Sarthe? Reiza has thought about this and brings no less than three Hypercars to the sim in this release. Until now, the BMW M Hybrid V8, Cadillac V-Series.R, and Porsche 963 available only in iRacing as officially licensed content. This will change with the release of the Endurance Pack Pt. 1. Along with Le Mans, Endurance Pack Part 1 will also be released with four new GT3 Gen2 cars along with three LMDh Hypercars. Two of the new GT3 Gen2 cars are, as their name suggests, evolutions of the existing Gen1 models. These are the Mercedes AMG EVO and the McLaren 720S EVO. Also coming are the BMW M4 GT3 and the Porsche 992 GT3-R.

Automobilista 2 already features many endurance racing icons, but Le Mans is probably the most prestigious. The legendary Circuit de La Sarthe is expected on 27 December, along with a range of LMDh and GT3 cars of 2023 specifications. More historical and modern Le Mans-related content will follow later.

Endurance Pack Part 1 DLC consists of all four GT3 Gen2 cars and the three LMDh models in addition to the legendary track and is expected to retail for US$ 9.99 / €8.99. In addition, the shorter Bugatti layout is also coming to Automobilista 2.

Other updates

Besides the arrival of new cars, Automobilista 2 also brings the necessary improvements. We cover them briefly now.

Shader Update For Better Exposure

With the new content also come new features. One is immediately obvious as soon as you drive the new cars against the AI: they now flash their headlights. The new set of shader updates that come with V1.5.5 bring some nice visual improvements without significant performance costs. For example, sparks have received further tweaks to their visuals and dynamics and now look much more accurate.

In addition, the numbers on the doors of the new cars light up when their lights are switched on. This is the result of shader adjustments, which also reduce the glare of in-car displays. In addition, with the new V1.5.5 release also come improvements to sparks, these have received further tweaks to their visuals and dynamics and now look much more accurate and realistic.

Another interesting new addition is the implementation of working LED flag panels on higher-level tracks, which include them in real life. Initially, only green and full track yellow flags will be activated on the panel, but this will expand in future updates to show local blue and yellow flags as well. This I personally think is a super cool addition to the game.

Optimisation also comes into how rain interacts with the cars and, in particular, how raindrops hit the cars, flow and are wiped off the windscreen.

Automobilista 2 Le Mans: AI driver changes & Better Night Performance

Furthermore, the first improvements for endurance racing capabilities are part of v1.5.5. While multiplayer driver swaps will have to wait a little longer, it is now possible to hand over the car to AI drivers, who have been given more attention to behave in a more realistic way.

Exciting Plans For 2024

Reize Studio is working tremendously had to make Automobilista 2 better and more comprehensive with new features and Automobilista 2 DLC packs. Just a month after the release of v1.5.4, Reiza is not done yet. They let them know that historical versions of Le Mans plus matching historical race cars are in the works, as well as more modern race cars. Thus, they are not only preparing existing racing classes, but also adding many new race cars in the coming months. And with that, 2024 promises to be a promising year for Automobilista 2. This, in my opinion, vastly underrated sim is definitely one of the best sim games out there and also in 2024 so that promises a lot of exciting