The year may be less than two weeks old, but Cadillac can’t wait for the new endurance racing season to start.
On Thursday, the Detroit luxury marque showed off the trio of liveries that its new V-LMDh endurance race car will wear during the upcoming IMSA SportsCar Championship campaign. You won’t have to wait long to see the vehicle in action, either, as it will be part of the field at the Rolex 24 at Daytona later this month.
Cadillac has shared plenty of previews of its new racer over the past year, but we finally know what the bold speed machine will look like come race day. Three V-LMDhs will compete in the endurance series this season, each of which will sport a nearly identical decal-covered livery except for its base color. Those colors—gold, blue and red—will be familiar to the brand’s most loyal fans, since they’re all taken from its V-series logo.
The first two cars, Nos. 1 and 2, will run under the Cadillac Racing name. No. 1, which will be driven Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande, looks as if it’s been dipped in gold. No. 2, which is an homage to the first Cadillac to compete at Le Mans, will be co-piloted by Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook and features a blue front end. Last but not least is Whelen Engineering’s red No. 31 car, which will be driven by Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims.
The liveries may differ, but each V-LMDh is the same mechanically. They’re each powered by a naturally aspirated 5.5-liter DOHC V-8 paired with the LMDh-standard hybrid system. The setup is mated to a seven-speed sequential transmission and is capable of pumping out 670 horses.
We’ll find out once and for all if the V-LMDh is as fast as it looks when the Rolex 24 at Daytona is held on Jan. 28 and 29. If you miss that race, don’t fret, though. There will be plenty of opportunities to see the car this season, including at Le Mans in June.
Click here to see more images of the Cadillac V-LMDh race car.