Cadillac on Thursday revealed the final liveries for its fleet of V-LMDh race cars ahead of their competition debut at the Rolex 24 at Daytona set for Jan. 28-29.
The V-LMDh is Cadillac’s entry into the new top class of endurance racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (of which the Rolex 24 is a part) and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), competing in the GTP and Hypercar classes, respectively.
Cadillac will field three cars, each in a livery featuring one of the colors from the V-Series logo, including the no. 01 in gold, the no. 02 in blue, and no. 31 in red. The numbers 01 and 31 will race in the IMSA series with the Whelen Engineering team, while the no. 02 will compete in the WEC, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
2023 Cadillac V-LMDh race car
The teams previously confirmed a driver lineup that includes Sebastian Bourdais and Renger van der Zande in the no. 01, with six-time IndyCar champion and four-time Rolex 24 winner Scott Dixon joining them for this year’s Daytona 24-hour enduro. The no. 31 will be driven by Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims, with Jack Aitken joining for select races.
Cadillac is aiming to continue its winning ways in IMSA competition. With its DPi-V.R from the previous rule set, Cadillac won titles in 2017, 2018, and 2021. It also scored four consecutive Rolex 24 wins between 2017 and 2020.
In the WEC, Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, and Richard Westbrook will co-drive the no. 02 V-LMDh. The car’s number is an homage to “Le Monstre,” a modified Cadillac Series 61 entered at Le Mans in 1950, which marked the brand’s first appearance at the legendary endurance race. Cadillac made an unsuccessful return in the early 2000s, and has steered clear of Le Mans until now.
Cadlliac’s Le Mans return is made possible by coordination between IMSA and the FIA that allowed for overlap in the GTP and Hypercar class rules. The IMSA-spec cars were originally referred to as LMDh (Le Mans Daytona hybrid), which carries over in the name of the V-LMDh, but the class was later rebranded to GTP in homage to the top class from IMSA’s 1980s glory days, which featured iconic cars like the Porsche 962.
First teased in 2022 in the form of the Project GTP Hypercar, the V-LMDh uses a Dallara chassis and a hybrid powertrain with a dual-overhead cam 5.5-liter V-8 for the internal combustion component. Under LMDh rules, combined output for the gasoline engine and any electric assist is capped at 670 hp.
After the V-LMDh makes its competition debut at the Rolex 24, it will compete in the FIA WEC 1000 Miles of Sebring and IMSA 12 Hours of Sebring, scheduled for March 17 and 18, respectively, and then go to Le Mans in June.
