# ADESS-03 (LMP3)

- Source: https://racingcarnetwork.com/wiki/adess-03/
- Publisher: Racing Car Network (racingcarnetwork.com), the race car marketplace
- Type: car · Brand: Adess
- Discipline: sports-prototypes
- Series: le-mans
- Era: 2010s
- Last updated: 2026-07-06

The ADESS-03 was LMP3's engineering outsider: Stéphane Chosse's aerodynamics-led prototype from the class's 2015 founding quartet, raced across Europe and Asia — and now the connoisseur's affordable route into closed-cockpit prototypes.

## Specifications

| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Engine | 5.6 L Nissan VK56 V8 (spec) |
| Power | 420 hp (Gen1 spec) |
| Weight | 900 kg (regulation) |
| Gearbox | X-trac 6-speed sequential (spec) |
| Chassis | Carbon monocoque (LMP3 safety spec) |
| Aero | Low-drag ADESS interpretation |
| Years | 2015–2020 (Gen1/Evo era) |
| Class | LMP3 (ELMS, ALMS, Ultimate Cup) |

## History

ADESS AG — the Munich operation of Stéphane Chosse, ex-aerodynamicist of Le Mans-winning pedigree — joined LMP3's founding constructors in 2015 with the 03: the spec Nissan VK56 and gearbox shared with all rivals, wrapped in the field's most aero-committed interpretation, its distinctive low-drag philosophy visibly different from the Ligier/Norma mainstream.

Campaigns ran wherever LMP3 did: European Le Mans Series and Michelin Le Mans Cup entries, Asian Le Mans Series programmes, Ultimate Cup and national prototype classes — collecting podiums and class results as a low-volume alternative while Ligier's fleet dominance defined the era's statistics. Updates (03 Evo iterations) carried the design through the generation.

The second-hand proposition is the intelligent contrarian's: 03s price below equivalent-age Ligiers on fleet-size logic alone, the spec drivetrain keeps mechanical support universal, and ADESS's continued existence (the company progressed to later prototype projects) preserves a factory memory bank. For club prototype grids and track programmes, it delivers LMP3 substance with paddock-exclusivity garnish.

## Palmarès

ELMS and Michelin Le Mans Cup LMP3 podium results 2015–2019; Asian Le Mans Series class campaigns; Ultimate Cup Series prototype wins as the fleet migrated club-ward — the honest record of the founding generation's low-volume alternative.

## What to check before you buy

ADESS's records document the small fleet — chassis history, Evo-update state and crash repairs from source, with the spec VK56/X-trac drivetrain serviced by the same network as every LMP3. Verify bodywork spares reality (the 03's distinctive panels are the scarce items — buy inventory or price moulding access), floor and splitter condition, and current safety-item dating. Fleet-size discount is the purchase logic: comparable pace to a Ligier at meaningful savings, traded against panel-supply planning. Club-prototype and track-programme buyers fit the profile; spec-series completionists should verify eligibility windows.

## Did you know

- Chosse's CV includes aerodynamics on Le Mans-winning prototypes — the 03 was a founding LMP3 designed by someone who'd shaped the class above it.
- ADESS pitched lowest drag in the founding quartet — on LMP3's spec power, its straight-line numbers regularly topped speed traps.
- The company's Munich office made it LMP3's only German constructor — a quiet outlier in a French-dominated category.

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