After a long hiatus from the world of racing, Cadillac is on full throttle to jump back into action. Thus Cadillac is now in the process of making the Cadillac GTP race car. This car will take carry forward Cadillac and its racing career forward. The Cadillac GTP race car will be jointly developed by Cadillac Racing and Design, and race manufacturer Dallara. This also comes at the backdrop of last year’s announcement from Cadillac to compete in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Automobile Club de l’Ouest Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) category in 2023.
“While the new race car will take into account IMSA and ACO regulations, Cadillac’s brand characteristics will be instantly recognizable, many of which are seen on our V-Series vehicles today, It will artistically combine form and function to influence the development of the forthcoming race car. Elements of Cadillac’s brand DNA, such as vertical lighting and floating blades, will be present throughout.” – Chris Mikalauskas, Lead Exterior Creative Designer, Cadillac.
For the race, Cadillac will be using the fourth generation of its V-Series prototype. This will also pave way for Cadillac to end its 21 years-long hiatus from 24 Hours of Le Mans. On the occasion, Cadillac’s Vice President noted that Cadillac had a rich history of being part of race events as well as making exciting cars for both on and off track. And the Cadillac Project GTP will carry forward that legacy. The Cadillac Project GTP race car will be revealed this summer and make its debut at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January 2023.
The Cadillac as of now has the V-Series Blackwing models in its portfolio that provide track car level performance in a road car. The CT4-V and the CT5-V Blackwing sports sedan are two such examples. Cadillac has also expanded its V-Series portfolio to the CT4 and CT5 sedan as well as the Escalade SUV. The Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing is right now in the last leg of its production run. The CT5-V Blackwing is powered by a 6.2L supercharged V-8 engine that produces 668 hp and is mated to a six-speed manual as standard and a 10-speed automatic transmission as an option.
The CT5-V Blackwing can go from 0-60 MPH in just 3.6 seconds. Next, we have the Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing model. The CT4-V Blackwing gets a 472 hp, 3.6L twin-turbocharged V-6 engine making 445 lb-ft of torque. Just like the CT5-V Blackwing here also you get a six-speed manual as standard and a 10-speed automatic transmission as an option. The Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing does 0-60 MPH in 4.0 seconds flat. Lastly, there is the Cadillac Escalade V SUV. The 2023 Cadillac Escalade V is the higher-performance version of the regular Cadillac Escalade.
The Escalade V is expected to share the CT5-V Blackwing supercharged V-8 will make over 600 hp and 600 lb-ft of torque which will be something to see. As the normal Cadillac Escalade powered by the 6.2L V-8 makes 420 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque. With this engine, the Escalade does 0-60 MPH in 7.7 seconds. The big bump in power if the said engine is there in the Escalade V would bring down the 0-60 MPH time to under seven seconds easily. That said, the Cadillac Escalade price starts at $76,295, and the Escalade V is expected to easily cross the six-figure mark for its base price.
