Cadillac announced its official return to top-tier prototype racing by unveiling its latest sports car offering, the Cadillac DPi-V.R for IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship 2017 season.
“Cadillac is proud to return to the pinnacle of prototype racing in North America after a 14-year absence,” said Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen in a press release confirming that two teams will campaign three of the new Dallara-based prototypes.
Three-time Championship-winning Action Express Racing will field a pair of the Cadillac-powered cars, with a single car going to Wayne Taylor Racing.
“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,” de Nysschen said. “The Cadillac DPi-V.R further strengthens our V-Performance portfolio, placing Cadillac into the highest series of sports car racing in North America.”
Cadillac has earned considerable success in the Pirelli World Challenge GT series with its ATS-V and CTS-V models, winning multiple driver and manufacturer titles, but had been absent from the top ranks of sportscar racing since its Northstar LMP program ended in 2002.
Started in 2000, the Northstar LMP program saw Cadillac competing with some success against the best endurance racers of the day, including the legendary Audi R8 and Ferrari 333SP, in both the American Le Mans Series and (in 2000) Europe’s Sports Racing World Cup. despite several top-five and podium finishes, the cars never won a race, and the program was axed after three years.
The Northstar LMP used as chassis designed by Riley and Scott for 2000–2001, and one designed by Nigel Stroud in 2002, all powered by the twin-turbocharged four-liter Cadillac Northstar V8.
