Cadillac hints the ATS-V.R will make "up to 600 hp."

What good is a performance car if you don’t prove the metal’s mettle on track? Apparently Cadillac came to the same conclusion and even before officially unveiling its new high-performance ATS-V, it’s confirming plans to go racing with the equally new ATS-V.R.

While the street model won’t put in its first public appearance until next week at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Cadillac lifted the covers on the race-spec model at the Circuit of the Americas, the Austin, Texas track that only recently hosted the U.S. Grand Prix.

The Cadillac ATS-V.R will get a significant boost over the already potent ATS-V model, the Detroit maker suggesting it will make “up to 600 horsepower.” It also will meet FIA GT3 specifications which would make it eligible to run in more than 30 different GT-series events around the world against such entrenched competitors as Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Ferrari, McLaren and Porsche.

”The V-Series is the highest expression of Cadillac’s rising product substance,” said Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen,. “Elevating and expanding the V-Series is the next logical step in Cadillac’s growth, including this new race car developed in GT3-specification, enabling us to pursue racing on a more global scale.”

(Click Here for a first look at the street-legal Cadillac ATS-V.)

The new ATS-V.R will be powered by a racing-tuned version of the street V’s twin-turbo 3.6-liter V-6, here renamed the LF4.R. Key components were already beefed up to make 450-hp, but for the track, the GT3-spec model gets huge twin Borg Warner turbos, increased capacity intercoolers, a side-exiting exhaust and revived engine management system. There’s also a unique rear transaxle and with other modifications, the R now boasts a 49/51 rear-biased weight balance.

Exterior changes include fenders widened to handle FIA-class tires, and aero upgrades including a carbon fiber front splitter, corner-mounted dive planes, and a full undertray with rear diffuser designed to enhance downforce.

Cadillac has had a reasonably solid record since getting into motorsports in 2004, logging 26 wins and 91 podium finishes with its earlier CTS-V sedan and coupe racers.

“The Cadillac ATS-V.R is a 170-mph billboard for the next generation of Cadillac’s V-Series,” said driver Johnny O’Connell. “On top of its power, its aerodynamic package should pay off in the fast corners and I’m looking forward to unleashing it.”

(From Track to Street: changes to Formula One rules may pay off on the street. Click Here to see how.)

The General Motors flagship brand could use the promotional plus a strong race showing might provide. It has struggled to get its line-up in gear despite the addition of new models like the base ATS and redesigned CTS, lagging well behind the overall U.S. automotive recovery. New Caddy President de Nysschen has warned that as the brand struggles to reposition itself it could experience several more years of soft sales in the U.S.

But it is hoping to start gaining more traction later in the decade with the roll-out of a wide array of new models that will include as many as three more utility vehicles, a high-line model dubbed the CT6, and an even more exclusive flagship expected to be named the CT8 or CT9.

(Click Here for spy shots of the new Ford Mustang Shelby GT350.)