Cadillac in June offered the first have a look at its new LMDh race car that’s set to compete subsequent 12 months at the high degree in each the IMSA SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship, in the GTP and Hypercar courses, respectively.
Dubbed the V-LMDh, the new race car is presently testing at racetracks all throughout the nation, and this week Cadillac launched a video displaying a few of the testing that came about lately at Georgia’s Road Atlanta.
Cadillac is but to disclose full particulars on the V-LMDh however we all know the car makes use of a Dallara chassis and runs a hybrid powertrain with a dual-overhead cam 5.5-liter V-8 for the inner combustion element. There’s additionally a single motor-generator, probably positioned at the entrance axle. Under LMDh guidelines, the powertrain’s output have to be capped at 670 hp.
Cadillac describes the V-8 as a newly developed unit, that means it isn’t merely the engine from the Chevrolet Corvette C8.R race car, which can also be a DOHC V-8 displacing 5.5 liters. Judging by the sound in the video, the V-LMDh’s engine isn’t working a flat-plane crank like in the Corvette C8.R (and Corvette Z06).
For its LMDh marketing campaign, Cadillac is working with two of its present companion groups in the present DPi class of the SportsCar Championship, which the GTP class replaces subsequent 12 months. The groups are Chip Ganassi Racing and Action Express Racing. Chip Ganassi Racing was liable for the Ford GT’s storybook GTE Pro-class win at the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans, which was the fiftieth anniversary of Ford’s well-known victory over Ferrari with the GT40 at the French traditional.
Driving the V-LMDh for Chip Ganassi Racing in the SportsCar Championship might be Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande, and driving for Action Express Racing might be Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims. Additional drivers for each groups might be introduced at a later date.
Driving the V-LMDh in the World Endurance Championship might be Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, and Richard Westbrook. The car might be fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing, and compete in the full season, which implies a run in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It might be the first time again at the French traditional for Cadillac after 21 years.
The GTP and Hypercar courses wherein Cadillac will compete are open to each the new LMDh automobiles and present LMH automobiles, with Balance of Performance guidelines deliberate to make sure an excellent taking part in subject.
Acura, BMW, and Porsche may even subject LMDh race automobiles, and Alpine and Lamborghini will be a part of the fray in 2024. ByKolles, Ferrari, Glickenhaus, Peugeot, and Toyota are all dedicated to the LMH class.
The first race for LMDh might be the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona subsequent January. The race is the opening spherical of the 2023 SportsCar Championship.
HIGH-RES GALLERY: 2023 Cadillac V-LMDh race car
This article was initially printed by Motor Authority, an editorial companion of ClassicCars.com.
