Cadillac’s much rumored return to prototype racing has become reality in late 2016, when the American luxury brand unveiled its new race car for the IMSA series. Dubbed DPi-V.R, it’s Cadillac’s first prototype race car in 14 years and will compete in IMSA’s new DPi class starting early 2017.
The new category replaces last year’s Prototype class in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and brings revised regulations to the series. One of the most important changes is that the IMSA now allows automakers to produce their own designs, meaning prototypes can have their own identities instead of sharing almost identical body shells. Mazda has already taken advantage of this with the RT24-P, which uses the company’s Kodo styling language, but Cadillac has also used cues seen on its road cars for the DPi racer.
“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.”
Cadillac will join the 2017 IMSA series with three cars, two run by Action Express Racing and one by Wayne Taylor Racing. The No. 5 car of Action Express will be driven by Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi, while the No. 31 vehicle will be handled by Dane Cameron and Eric Curran. Wayne Taylor Racing’s No. 10 will be driven by Jordan Taylor, Ricky Taylor, and Max Angelelli, but former NASCAR star Jeff Gordon will join in for the first race of the season.
The 2017 IMSA is set to commence on January 28 at Daytona and will include events at Sebring, Long Beach, Circuit of the Americas, Watkins Glen, Road America, and Laguna Seca. The final race will take place on October 7 at Road Atlanta with the 10-hour Petit Le Mans.
Continue reading to find out more about the Cadillac DP1-V.R.
from Top Speed http://ift.tt/2hbcHJo
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