Cadillac is the brand of the General Motors group that will compete in the new premier category of world endurance, while Corvette will focus on the development of a GT3 vehicle, since this technical regulation seems to be the basis for endurance racing with GT vehicles. For that end, Cadillac will develop a prototype LMDh in collaboration with Dallaraa vehicle that has so far received the name of Cadillac Project GTP, acronyms that refer to the name ‘Gran Touring Prototype’ with which IMSA has baptized this new main class.
Despite this nod to IMSA, Cadillac Racing’s goal is to compete in both the American series and the WEC, which will mark the brand’s return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans more than two decades after its last participation in the French endurance classic. With this premise in mind, Cadillac and Dallara have made notable advances in design of a prototype that should complete its first tests around the summer to be ready for homologation and subsequent competitive debut in January 2023.
Chris Mikalauskasresponsible for Cadillac, has pointed out: “Although the new car will take into account the regulations of IMSA and ACO, the defining characteristics of Cadillac designs will be immediately recognizable. Many of them are already seen in our series vehicles. The objective is to combine design and functionality to mark the development of our next racing car. Elements of the Cadillac brand DNA, such as the light clusters or the floating blades, will be present at all times».
And the truth is that Mikalauskas is not lying, since the digital renderings that Cadillac has shown allow us to see the brand’s own design elements such as the optical groups located in the lateral area in a vertical position, as well as aspects to take into account. Although in early interpretations of Cadillac’s LMDh prototype there was no trace of a rear spoiler, in the new renders there is a rear spoiler with a design very close to those that can be seen in any prototype.
As usual, the final result of the Cadillac LMDh prototype will be very different from what has been seen in these renders. All in all, the General Motors firm has the great challenge of surpassing the big manufacturers on the world scene, since it should be noted that the final prototype born from this Cadillac Project GTP will have to compete against the LMH prototypes from Toyota, Peugeot, Ferrari, Glickenhaus and ByKolles and the LMDh vehicles from Audi, BMW and Porschein addition to the cars that may be to come.