The FIA's top sportscar series underwent frequent renaming across its four decades of existence. It began in 1953 as the World Sportscar Championship for sports prototypes and shifted in 1962 to the International Championship for GT Manufacturers when the focus turned to production-based GT cars. The name International Manufacturers Championship was used in 1966–1967, followed by International Championship for Makes in 1968–1971.
The title World Championship for Makes appeared explicitly in two separate phases. From 1972 to 1975 it covered Group 6 Prototype and Group 5 Sports Car competition, with cars limited to 3.0-litre engines. From 1976 to 1981, the name applied specifically to Group 5 Special Production Cars, during which time the Porsche 935 became the dominant force, winning multiple championships in what many considered one of the most competitive eras for production-based sportscar racing. Concurrently, a separate World Sports Car Championship ran from 1976 to 1977 for prototype cars.
The late 1960s and early 1970s — when the series ran under the International Championship for Makes banner — are considered the golden age of the championship. Cars such as the Ferrari 512S, Ferrari 330 P4, Ford GT40, Lola T70, Chaparral, and Porsche 908 and 917 contested classic circuits including Sebring, the Nurburgring, Spa-Francorchamps, Monza, Targa Florio, and Le Mans. Ford won the 24 Hours of Le Mans four consecutive times during this era.
In 1981, the FIA introduced a drivers' championship to complement the manufacturers' title. A year later, the series adopted an entirely new technical framework with Group C regulations, limiting fuel consumption rather than engine displacement. This drove a renaissance of manufacturer involvement, with Porsche, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota, and Mazda all fielding works entries. The series was renamed the World Endurance Championship in 1982, then the World Sports Prototype Championship in 1986, and finally the Sportscar World Championship from 1991 to 1992.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans was included in nearly every season of the championship's history, missing only in 1956, 1975–1979, and 1989–1990. The 12 Hours of Sebring also featured almost continuously. Other notable rounds included the 1000km Nurburgring (from 1953 onward), the Targa Florio (1955–1973), the 1000km Monza (1963–2008), the Mille Miglia (1953–1957), and the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen (1968–1971 and 1973–1980).
The introduction of 3.5-litre Formula One-spec engines for 1991 proved disastrous. Costs escalated as manufacturers developed machinery capable of Formula One qualifying pace, but the class attracted too few entries. Mercedes and Peugeot departed for Formula One. The 1993 season was cancelled before a single race was run, ending the championship.
The FIA revived a successor series in 2012 as the FIA World Endurance Championship, formed in partnership with the Automobile Club de l'Ouest following the success of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. The new series retained the 24 Hours of Le Mans at its core and introduced the Hypercar class in 2021 to replace the LMP1 prototype category.
The championship under its various names established the template for multi-round international sportscar competition and served as the primary arena in which Ferrari, Porsche, Ford, Jaguar, and later Japanese manufacturers fought for global prestige. The Porsche 917 and 956, the Ford GT40, and the Jaguar XJR-9 all earned their iconic status within this championship. The series' Group C era in particular is regarded as a high-water mark for sportscar engineering, combining closed cockpit prototypes with fuel-consumption regulations that drove significant powertrain innovation.