Cadillac on Thursday unveiled the final liveries for its fleet of V-LMDh race cars ahead of their competitive debut at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, scheduled for January 28-29.
The V-LMDh is Cadillac’s entry into the new pinnacle of endurance racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (of which the Rolex 24 is a part) and the FIA ​​World Endurance Championship (WEC), competing in the GTP and Hypercar classes, respectively.
Cadillac will field three cars, each painted in one of the V-Series logo colors, including the #01 in gold, the #02 in blue and the #31 in red. The numbers 01 and 31 will compete in the IMSA series with Team Whelen Engineering, while the number 02 will compete in the WEC, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
2023 Cadillac V-LMDh race car
The teams previously confirmed a rider line-up that includes Sebastian Bourdais and Renger van der Zande in the No. 01, with six-time IndyCar Champion and four-time Rolex 24 winner Scott Dixon joining them for this year’s Daytona 24 Hours Enduro . The no. 31 will be driven by Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims, with Jack Aitken joining for select races.
Cadillac aims to continue its winning streak in IMSA competition. Using its DPi-VR from the previous ruleset, Cadillac won titles in 2017, 2018 and 2021. He also achieved four consecutive Rolex 24 wins between 2017 and 2020.
In the WEC, Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook became No. 02 V-LMDh. The car’s number pays homage to “Le Monstre”, a modified Cadillac Series 61 that competed at Le Mans in 1950 and marked the marque’s first appearance at the legendary endurance race. Cadillac returned unsuccessfully in the early 2000s and has stayed away from Le Mans to this day.
2023 Cadillac V-LMDh race car
Cadlliac’s return to Le Mans is made possible by coordination between IMSA and the FIA, which allowed for an overlap of GTP and hypercar class rules. The IMSA specification cars were initially known as the LMDh (Le Mans Daytona Hybrid), which continues in the name of the V-LMDh, but the class was later renamed the GTP, in homage to the top-of-the-line class from IMSA’s glory days in the 1980s . with legendary cars like the Porsche 962.
First teased in 2022 in the form of the Project GTP Hypercar, the V-LMDh uses a Dallara chassis and hybrid powertrain with a 5.5-liter dual overhead cam V8 for the combustion component. Under LMDh rules, combined power for the petrol engine and any electric assist is capped at 670hp.
After making its competitive debut at the Rolex 24, the V-LMDh will compete in the FIA ​​WEC 1000 Miles of Sebring and the IMSA 12 Hours of Sebring, scheduled for March 17 and 18 respectively, and then in June drive to Le Mans.
