Cadillac has revealed its all-new 2017 Cadillac DPi-V.R race car, and has announced that it will compete in the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series, Prototype (P) class. The 2017 Cadillac DPi-V.R will first be driven competitively at the traditional IMSA season opener, the Rolex 24 At Daytona, by teams from Wayne Taylor Racing and Action Express Racing.
“It is not possible to overstate how thrilled all of us at IMSA are to officially welcome Cadillac, one of the world’s most respected premium automotive brands, back to Prototype racing in the WeatherTech Championship,” said IMSA President Scott Atherton. “This is exactly the type of program we had in mind when we announced the Daytona Prototype international concept last year. As we open a new era of Prototype competition in 2017, we now have three benchmark examples of manufacturers using this platform to showcase their impressive and unique technology at the highest level. We cannot wait to get the new era underway in just a few short weeks at Daytona.”
“Cadillac is proud to return to the pinnacle of prototype racing in North America after a 14-year absence,” added Johan de Nysschen, president of Cadillac. “Cadillac’s V-Performance production models — the ATS-V and CTS-V — are transforming our brand’s product substance, earning a place among the world’s elite high performance marques. The Cadillac DPi-V.R further strengthens our V-Performance portfolio, placing Cadillac into the highest series of sports car racing in North America.”
The all-new Cadillac DPi-V.R is based on the Dallara chassis, one of four eligable from the 2017 season and is said to have been designed to ‘contribute to the functional performance of the prototype using elements gleaned from the current lineup of Cadillac V-Performance models’.
“The DPi-V.R race car was an exciting new canvas for the Cadillac design and sculpting team,” said Andrew Smith, Global Cadillac Design executive director. “The studio embraced the opportunity to interpret the Cadillac form language, line work and graphic signature for this premier prototype racing application. Every detail of the final design was selected to support the car’s on-track performance and unmistakable Cadillac presence.”
The design details giving the DPi-V.R car its distinctive Cadillac appearance and presence include the vertical lighting signature; the sheer, sculptural quality of the body and bold bodyside feature line; V-Performance wheels with Brembo brakes; V-Performance emblems; and a canopy graphic inspired by the Cadillac daylight opening. Even subtle cues such as the cooling vents and the air intake were designed in the studio, the latter in the trapezoidal shape of the Cadillac crest.
Powering the DPi-V.R is a normally-aspirated Cadillac 6.2-liter V8, which is said to share its inherent architecture with the engines of the third-generation Cadillac CTS-V and fifth-generation Cadillac Escalade. The engine produces approximately 600hp, as defined by IMSA-mandated air restrictors, with a maximum allowable rev-limit of 7,600rpm. The engine transfers power to the rear wheels through an X-Trac paddle-shift transmission.
