The championship was first run in 2012 as a replacement for the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, following much of the same format and featuring eight endurance races across the world, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The original structure encompassed four categories: LMP1 and LMP2 prototypes along with GTE grand tourers, subdivided into GTE Pro for teams with fully professional driver line-ups and GTE Am for teams featuring a mix of amateur and professional drivers.
Manufacturer interest in the LMP1 class declined sharply after the 2017 season, prompting the FIA to commission a regulatory study into the top category's future. The resulting proposal, known as Le Mans Hypercar (LMH), moved away from Le Mans Prototype entry specifications and reduced reliance on hybrid technologies. The FIA cited flagship halo models such as the Aston Martin Vulcan and McLaren Senna GTR as the type of cars the new regulations were intended to attract. The Hypercar class made its debut in the 2021 season with LMH entries from Alpine, Glickenhaus, and Toyota. From 2023 onward, cars built to LMDh regulations — a joint ACO and IMSA specification allowing shared chassis with the IMSA SportsCar Championship — became eligible to compete alongside LMH machinery in the Hypercar class.
In 2021 the ACO announced that both LMGTE categories would be withdrawn following a rapid decline in manufacturer support. The 2022 season was the final year for LMGTE Pro. From 2024, LMGTE Am was replaced by a GT3-based category described as GT3 Premium, featuring a cost-capped body kit conversion from standard GT3 machinery; manufacturer official factory entries were deliberately excluded to keep the class customer-focused.
The 2024 season was the first in the championship's history without LMP2 cars on the full-season grid, displaced by the surge in Hypercar and LMGT3 entries. LMP2 retained a minimum of fifteen reserved grid slots at the 24 Hours of Le Mans itself, preserving its role at the sport's most prestigious event.
The current championship structure features sports prototypes in the Hypercar class competing under either LMH or LMDh regulations, and production-derived grand tourers in the LM GT3 category. Two world championship titles are contested: the Hypercar World Endurance Drivers' Championship and the Hypercar World Endurance Manufacturers' Championship. Additional cups and trophies are awarded to drivers and private teams in other categories.
Points are awarded to the top ten finishers in each race on a sliding scale from first to tenth. Cars that complete the race but are classified eleventh or lower receive half a point. For eight- and ten-hour races, points are worth approximately 1.5 times the standard allocation. For the 24 Hours of Le Mans, points are worth approximately twice the standard scale, reflecting the greater endurance challenge and prestige of the event.
Contemporary drivers have described WEC races as featuring closely contested on-track racing throughout an event's duration, with sustained overtaking and aggressive competition at all stages. The championship's rotation of endurance events at circuits around the world, anchored by Le Mans, has established it as one of the defining arenas of international sports car racing since its 2012 relaunch.