Cadillac is returning to the race track with the DPi-V.R, starting with the the 24 Hours at Daytona.
Automakers claim that they learn a lot from their racing programs, well, Cadillac is going back to school: the brand revealed the all-new 2017 Cadillac DPi-V.R race car today.
The luxury brand’s entry will compete in the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series, Prototype (P) class. This represents Cadillac’s second foray in racing. The last time the brand competed in top-level prototype racing was 2002, when the ill-fated Northstar LMP finished ninth at Le Mans.
“Cadillac is proud to return to the pinnacle of prototype racing in North America after a 14-year absence,” said Johan de Nysschen, president of Cadillac.
“Cadillac’s V-Performance production models — the ATS-V and CTS-V — are transforming our brand’s product substance, earning a place among the world’s elite high performance marques. The Cadillac DPi-V.R further strengthens our V-Performance portfolio, placing Cadillac into the highest series of sports car racing in North America.”
Adding to the hubbub, the new racer will compete in the season’s first event: The Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 28-29, 2017. Actually, there are two entries driven by teams from Wayne Taylor Racing and Action Express Racing.
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The 2017 Cadillac Dpi-V.R race car features technology used in the brand's current models.
Cadillac isn’t the only brand running around the track. Ford unveiled its new Ford GT last year and immediately rolled it out onto the track, including a second-place finish overall – first in its class – at this year’s 24-hour Daytona race.
In fact, many makers, including Mazda, Audi, Toyota, Porsche, Aston Martin and others, run at Daytona and the other races on the circuit.
The all-new Cadillac DPi-V.R has been designed to contribute to the functional performance of the prototype using elements gleaned from the current lineup of Cadillac V-Performance models, especially the CTS-V supersedan. Above all, the DPi-V.R was developed to perform, via testing in the wind tunnel and engineering development.
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“The DPi-V.R race car was an exciting new canvas for the Cadillac design and sculpting team,” said Andrew Smith, Global Cadillac Design executive director. “The studio embraced the opportunity to interpret the Cadillac form language, line work and graphic signature for this premier prototype racing application. Every detail of the final design was selected to support the car’s on-track performance and unmistakable Cadillac presence.”
That “presence” is available in everyday Caddies. The DPi-V.R is equipped with the new Rear Camera Mirror first seen on the Cadillac CT6 Sedan and available on the Cadillac CTS, XT5 and Escalade for the 2017 model year.
The race car is propelled by a race-prepared, normally aspirated Cadillac 6.2-liter V-8 engine that shares inherent architecture with the engines of the third-generation Cadillac CTS-V (640 horsepower) and fifth-generation Cadillac Escalade (420 hp).
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The engine produces approximately 600 horsepower when tuned for racing as defined by IMSA-mandated air restrictors, with a maximum allowable rpm of 7,600. The engine transfers power to the rear wheels through an X-TRAC paddle-shift transmission.