Cadillac returns to Le Mans in June with three of the newly named Cadillac V-Series.Rs to compete for the overall win in the Hypercar class.
The first Cadillacs raced at Le Mans were entered by privateers Briggs Cunningham and Miles and Sam Collier way back in 1950.
Le Mans hasn’t seen a Cadillac in more than 20 years, not since it competed in 2000, 2001 and 2002 with its 4.0-litre turbocharged, V8-powered Northstar LMP.
On its last outing in 2002, it finished with ninth and 12th places.
Fast forward and the three latest Cadillac V-Series.R race cars made their competition debut at Daytona in January, with the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R earning a podium finish.
Co-developed by Cadillac Design, Cadillac Racing and chassis constructor Dallara, the car incorporates distinctive Cadillac design elements, such as vertical lighting and floating blades.
It’s powered by an all-new 5.5-litre DOHC V8 developed by GM’s Performance and Racing Propulsion team based in Pontiac, Michigan.
The V8 is paired with the LMDh common hybrid system, rated up to 500kW per series specifications, and is teamed with a seven-speed sequential gearbox.
The spec energy recovery system was developed by Bosch, Williams Advanced Engineering (now WAE) and Xtrac.
The cars will be renumbered for the Le Mans race in June.
“We are all looking forward to Cadillac returning to Le Mans and challenging for the overall victory,” Earl Bamber, a two-time overall winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, said.
“It has been decades since an American manufacturer has achieved this and we will be strongly pushing to achieve our goal.”
Cadillac V-Series.R began on-track development in July, 2022 and had logged more than 20,000km on racetracks in the US, leading into the 2023 Rolex 24 At Daytona.
“It’s been special to be a part of this from the beginning. We started this journey nearly two years ago testing in the simulator. It’s been an awesome journey and the adventure is only just beginning. It’s going to be incredible all the way up to Le Mans.”
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