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Cadillac V-LMDh Race Car Unveiled, Has Neat Livery and 5.5-Liter V8 to Match

Cadillac has unveiled its V-LMDh race car that will make its competition debut later this month. The American brand chose a colorful paint scheme for its new race car, which will compete in Blue, Gold, and Red, and all three have a black contrasting side, with a few other colorful lines in their liveries as well.
Cadillac V-LMDh race cars wearing their blue, red and gold liveries at Daytona International Speedway. Simulated vehicles shown. 15 photos
Photo: Cadillac
Cadillac V-LMDh race cars wearing their blue, red and gold liveries at Daytona International Speedway. Simulated vehicle shown.Cadillac V-LMDh race cars wearing their blue, red and gold liveries at Daytona International Speedway. Simulated vehicle shown.Cadillac V-LMDh race cars wearing their blue, red and gold liveries at Daytona International Speedway. Simulated vehicle shown.Cadillac V-LMDh race cars wearing their blue, red and gold liveries at Daytona International Speedway. Simulated vehicle shown.Cadillac V-LMDh race cars wearing their blue, red and gold liveries at Daytona International Speedway. Simulated vehicles shown.2023 Cadillac V-Series LMDh prototype race car2023 Cadillac V-Series LMDh prototype race car2023 Cadillac V-Series LMDh prototype race car2023 Cadillac V-Series LMDh prototype race car2023 Cadillac V-Series LMDh prototype race car2023 Cadillac V-Series LMDh prototype race car2023 Cadillac V-Series LMDh prototype race car2023 Cadillac V-Series LMDh prototype race car2023 Cadillac V-Series LMDh prototype race car
Cadillac's entries will be the #01, #02, and #31 cars in the Hybrid category, or LMDh, which is set to include the same kind of vehicle in both the IMSA WeatherTech Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Each livery has one of the primary colors of Cadillac's V-Series logo, which makes for a look that fits the brand perfectly.

Mind you, these race cars might come in different liveries for other competitions, but we like where they took this livery for their first outing. Regardless, you should know that each driver on the roster has contributed to the development of the new race car.

The #01 car will be raced by Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande, along with Scott Dixon for the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The #31 car is driven by Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims, and Jack Aitken.

The #02 car will be driven by Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, and Richard Westbrook, and its livery is an homage to the first Cadillac entry at Le Mans, which happened back in 1950 with Briggs Cunningham's Le Monstre.

Cadillac won the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2017, 2018, and 2021, so expectations are high. The marque raised the bar for itself at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, as it won in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020.

We will get to see the new Cadillac V-LMDh Race Car in action at the Rolex 24 at Daytona later this month, so we do not have to wait too long to see all the new cars race each other on the track.

We are writing about a new category of hybrid racing prototype, and it should make for good racing, as it involves several brands with experience in racing and a fresh set of rules as far as the cars go.

Cadillac's proposition comes with a 5.5-liter naturally aspirated V8 motor with a hybrid assistance system that is common across all the cars in the class. The dual-motor setup delivers a maximum output of 670 horsepower (500 kilowatts), which should make for enough to see these Dallara-developed chassis rock out on the track.

The DOHC V8 that bears the LMC55R internal designation is mated to a seven-speed sequential transmission.

You can bet that Cadillac wants another win at Daytona in the new car, but so do its competitors. As class rules allow, all its rivals come with turbocharged motors smaller than Cadillac's V8, which will make an interesting battle even more challenging.

While the hybrid system and its motor, along with the power cap on the entire powertrain should level out the playing field, we cannot know which will be the fastest in real life, especially over 24 hours, until they race.

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About the author: Sebastian Toma
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Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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