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The Cadillac Project GTP Hypercar debuted to preview the brand’s newest endurance racing engine starting competition at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January 2023. It will also be part of the grid for next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. Track testing will begin this summer.
“By competing in the IMSA and WEC 2023 championships, Cadillac Racing has the opportunity to showcase its capabilities, expertise and technology,” said Cadillac Global Vice President Rory Harvey.
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The GTP Hypercar project features design cues from Cadillac road vehicles. This is most noticeable at the front where the race car has vertically oriented headlights that run down the nose. The sharply chiseled body panels also evoke the brand’s modern products.
The racer shape has sharp protrusions that stick out of the front and rear fenders. These pieces don’t stick to the main body, so we can’t call them flying supports. The tall fins divide the rear deck and attach to the high wings.
Cadillac’s announcement says that what we’re seeing is a “preview” look of the GTP Hypercar that will be racing. Aerodynamic testing is complete in the lab, but the car still has to undergo actual track testing. It’s possible that things could change depending on what drivers and engineers experience while on a real circuit.
Dallara will supply the chassis to Project GTP Hypercar. Power will come from a 5.5 liter dual overhead cam V8 with a generic LMDh category hybrid system. No other mechanical details are available at this time.
Motor1.com asked if this V8 is the same unit that powers the C8.R race car. “This is a new engine designed for the Cadillac LMDh,” a Cadillac spokesperson told us during the GTP presentation.
Cadillac will have a lot of competition in the LMDh class. For example, Lamborghini teased its entry that has the sharp styling that evokes the street supercar brand. Acura also offers a glimpse of the car with headlights.
BMW recently unveiled the exterior of its car in this class which the German brand calls the M Hybrid V8 LMDh. Outside of the eight-cylinder layout, there’s no mechanical info on the racer yet.
Porsche seems to be going deep into development as the company is already evaluating the vehicles on the track. The power plant is reportedly a class-mandated V8 twin-turbo and hybrid technology.
Audi originally planned to build an LMDh class car. However, our comrades at Motorsport.com reported that brand stops racer development. A person from the brand told Motorsport: “The capacity is used differently and makes more sense nowadays.”
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