Le Mans Ultimate Review: Brilliant Core Wrapped in Unfinished Promise

Studio 397 has done something special with Le Mans Ultimate's physics model . The way your hypercar loads up through Blanchimont or how the tyres telegraph their limits at Spa is some of the best simulation work on the market right now . Yet for every moment of brilliance behind the wheel, there's a feature missing or a price tag that makes you wince.

After 18 months in early access, the official FIA World Endurance Championship game launched its 1.0 version in July 2025. Steam reviews sit around 78% positive overall, with recent reviews at 74% , painting a picture of cautious optimism mixed with legitimate frustration.

Let's talk about what works first.

The Driving Feel That Justifies Everything

The degree of communication via the handling model about how the car behaves on track surface is second to none . Built on rFactor 2's pMotor 2.5 engine foundation, Le Mans Ultimate delivers feedback that makes you understand exactly why you just binned it into the gravel at Monza's first chicane. Your mistake. Not the game's.

Whether you're locking up under heavy braking into Monza's first chicane or feeling the chassis shudder down Mulsanne at 200 mph, the game constantly feeds you valuable feedback . The tyre model captures heating and cooling properties with enough nuance that your setup choices genuinely matter. Brake temperatures, wear levels, pressure readings all present themselves beautifully for those who love dialling in that perfect lap.

Force feedback provokes arguments though. Some players consider it class-leading while others complain about noise and curb-heavy sensations until properly tuned. Your mileage will vary based on wheel hardware and personal preference. I tested on a Fanatec CSL DD with default settings and found the initial experience a bit harsh. After 20 minutes of tweaking, things clicked into place.

The Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR LMH with its naturally aspirated V12 deserves special mention. The audio is another standout feature with engine notes, gear shifts, and tyre scrub sounding rich and authentic . The external audio in VR had me genuinely mesmerised during replay sessions at Le Mans.

Where Single-Player Dreams Go to Die

Here's where things get awkward.

There isn't even a championship mode, let alone the sort of full career mode we've come to expect . You get Race Weekends. That's your lot. Pick a track, pick a car, race against AI. Want to track championship points across an eight-race season? Players are currently required to calculate the points themselves .

A proper career mode is scheduled for early 2026. Which means the game launched at version 1.0 without one of the most basic features you'd expect from an officially licensed motorsport title.

The AI deserves credit though. They are aggressive enough to offer you a hard battle but trustworthy enough that you can run side-by-side through Blanchimont . They don't get tamed down when they're out of sight either. Positions swap, mistakes happen, and over longer races they negotiate traffic reasonably well. One missing piece: driver changes for the AI, with the starting driver currently powering through no matter the race duration .

Content and the DLC Maze

The base game features cars and tracks from the 2023 FIA WEC season, plus the Aston Martin Valkyrie, BMW M Hybrid V8, three LMGT3s and the ELMS-spec ORECA 07 . That gives you seven laser-scanned circuits and a solid roster of machinery for £29/$38.

Then comes the complicated bit.

The remaining cars and tracks from the 2024 and 2025 FIA WEC seasons are available separately as paid DLC . Five DLC packs plus an ELMS Season Pass add another £72/$93.50 to your total if you want everything. Or you could subscribe.

RaceControl Pro costs $48 per year and unlocks online championships with skill-based matchmaking, extended registration periods, custom liveries, and incident protest systems. RaceControl Pro+ at $84 per year includes all that plus every piece of DLC for both Le Mans Ultimate and rFactor 2.

The subscription value depends entirely on how much you race online and whether you care about rFactor 2 content. For endurance racing enthusiasts who'll use the championship features, it makes sense. For offline-focused players, it feels like being charged extra for features that should exist in the base package.

Online Racing Where the Game Shines

Strip away the pricing debates and you find a ranked system that achieves what every game strives for . The safety rating system actually works. If you race clean but someone spins and you tap them by accident, or someone races you harsh and you spin off, but recover to finish the rest safely, that's taken into consideration and rewarded .

Low split lobbies filled with exclamation marks are disasters. Top split lobbies filled entirely with trusted badges are why people write positive reviews. The progression from beginner races at 20 minutes to weekly races approaching 100 minutes gives you a genuine endurance racing learning curve.

Daily Races, Weekly Races and Special Events happen every few minutes , with Team Events allowing you to share driving duties with friends. The first 24-hour Special Event at Le Mans happened in November 2025, showing Studio 397's commitment to building something special here.

VR Performance and Technical Reality Check

VR support exists and when it works, it gives an exceptional sense of presence in the car compared to other options . Setup requires patience though.

Performance varies wildly based on hardware. Some users report occasional FPS drops even with RTX 4090s paired with older CPUs like the 5800X3D. Others with Quest 3 and similar setups experience smooth 120fps with proper configuration. The simulator is finally in a state that is both enjoyable and competitive for VR users , though it's not perfect.

Common VR issues include resolution problems, mouse cursor limitations in menus, and the need for tweaking Nvidia control panel settings for pre-rendered frames. When loading replays from the main menu in VR, the replay will only show on the VR mirror . Small annoyances that shouldn't exist at version 1.0.

Triple-screen support remains a pain point for some users with setup issues and FPS drops. Long loading times affect everyone, though Studio 397 claims loading times have been improved by up to 30% in recent builds .

Controller Support That Actually Works

Surprisingly, LMU is fully compatible with a variety of gaming controllers, and although slightly more challenging, it is still possible to be very competitive without a wheel . Using a DualSense on PC with minimal assists, the game remains more than playable . Anti-lock brake assist feels essential though.

This matters for the accessibility angle. Not everyone owns a £500 wheel setup and Le Mans Ultimate doesn't punish you for using a controller the way some hardcore sims do.

The Verdict That Depends on What You Value

Le Mans Ultimate has come on leaps and bounds since it first entered the public domain 21 months ago. It is not quite the finished product yet .

If you're an online endurance racing fan with proper wheel hardware who values authentic WEC machinery and laser-scanned circuits, this is your game. The physics justify the purchase. The multiplayer structure works. The car roster represents the most exciting contemporary racing machinery operating anywhere in the world .

If you're an offline player who wants a career mode, championship structure, and single-player depth without paying subscription fees for features that used to be standard, walk away. As a game, Le Mans Ultimate feels bare bones . Check back in 2026 when the promised career mode arrives.

The DLC and subscription strategy will divide opinion. To call this completely finished is a bit misleading . Yet the core driving experience is so good that for the right audience, those compromises become acceptable.

It's still structurally a slim offering for solo players, but the handling model is second to none, the selection of cars and circuits is excellent and the online competition is justifiably pulling people away from tending to their precious iRacing driver rating .

Buy it if you race online and love endurance motorsport. Wait if you prefer offline campaigns and complete packages at launch.

Pros

• Genre-leading physics and tyre model deliver exceptional feedback
• AI drivers race aggressively yet fairly with believable behaviour
• Online ranking system rewards clean racing and works brilliantly
• Authentic WEC machinery with stunning audio design
• VR implementation offers genuine presence when configured properly
• Controller support surprisingly competitive for non-wheel users
• Laser-scanned circuits capture real-world track evolution
• Multiclass endurance racing feels authentic and engaging

Cons

• No career mode or championship structure at launch
• Bare-bones single-player offering outside Race Weekends
• DLC pricing adds £72/$93.50 for complete 2024/2025 content
• Subscription model feels unnecessary for basic features
• Performance inconsistencies and long loading times persist
• VR setup requires patience and troubleshooting
• Force feedback needs significant tuning for most wheels
• Triple-screen support remains problematic for many users

Score: 7.5/10