Cadillac Project GTP Hypercar is a wild prototype racer equipped with the new V8
Ahead of the 24-hour Le Mans race, the world’s most famous endurance race, Cadillac has announced that it will return to the global race stage in 2023 with the GTP Hypercar project, which will compete in IMSA and WEC.
The car will compete in the new GTP prototype class, which replaces the DPi class released in IMSA, and will compete with the LMH class in the WEC’s LMDh class, which will replace the old LMP1 cars. The GTP Hypercar project was developed by Cadillac and Dallara and will be powered by a new 5.5-liter DOHC V8 engine combined with a standard LMDh hybrid system.
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Although the car was a prototype, it shouldn’t look like a road car, GM wanted to create a design that would be immediately recognizable as the Cadillac, like the prototypes supported by many other manufacturers. They did this by adding vertical lighting, as well as the weak remnants of a corporate grid with a Cadillac ceiling on the nose.
“The GTP Hypercar project is a unique convergence of form and function and reflects Cadillac’s future performance aesthetics,” said Chris Michalauskas, Cadillac’s leading exterior creative designer. “From the upcoming race cars to the amazing production cars, we have a lot ahead of us.”
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Cadillac has been racing the DPI-VR in the American sports car race at the IMSA Championship since 2017, and this new car will be available in 2023, but now the automaker plans to return to the global racing scene for the first time. Has competed in the WEC (including Le Mans) for 20 years.
Commenting on this, Laura Vontrop Clauser, manager of the GM sports car racing program, said: “Competing with a well-known American brand like Cadillac for an overall victory in Le Mans is an honor. The whole team is happy to continue to build Cadillac’s legacy by competing internationally and against the best in the toughest races in the world. ”
The Project GTP Hypercar will be tested this summer and its first race will be in January 2023 at Rolex 24 in Dayton.
