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Question For Cadillac Engineers

Rob

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V-Series Cadillac(s)?
Not Yet!
As I sit here watching Cadillac lead the Sebring race with 3.5 hours to go, the gears inside my head have started turning.

As you can see by my signature, I'm a Corvette and Cadillac XLR enthusiast and I've followed the rebirth of Corvette racing since the late 1990s.

Over the last several years, Cadillac has developed an impressive racing team and car, even though the race cars looking nothing like the production models.

Corvette marketing has done a great job of marketing the Corvette by spotlighting that, what they learn on the track from the race car, trickles down to the production automobile that rolls out of the dealer showroom.

So my question is, how much of what you learn from the Cadillac race cars, trickles down to the V-series line that rolls out of the dealership showroom?

There's no dispute, the Blackwings are impressive cars from many aspects but it's difficult for me to classify them as "sports cars".

The Corvette is and always has been, a true, 2-seater sports car. Cadillac, since it's inception, has been known for quality and luxury (let's just forget about the Catera for the sake of discussion, lol). The V-series line has done a pretty good job of trying to meld both qualities into one, but I feel like Cadillac continues to fight with an identity crisis.

To this day, the demise of the XLR still saddens me, but the high MSRP, was a death knell for the platform. I would have loved to see that model continue to grow and evolve and to truly see what's learned on the track today at Sebring, trickles down into an XLR sports car that combines performance and luxury, into a true, two-seater sports car.

When I see the Corvette C8.R on the track at Sebring, and I climb behind the wheel of a 2023 Corvette Z06, and press the start button, I have a degree of confidence, that there's a little bit of Sebring in the car that I just started.

I don't get that same feeling when I start up a Blackwing; it doesn't make me think of the Cadillac race cars at Sebring.
 
There is some food for thought here, this should get interesting!
 
When I see the Corvette C8.R on the track at Sebring, and I climb behind the wheel of a 2023 Corvette Z06, and press the start button, I have a degree of confidence, that there's a little bit of Sebring in the car that I just started.

I don't get that same feeling when I start up a Blackwing; it doesn't make me think of the Cadillac race cars at Sebring.
For me, the biggest reason is this: when you look at a C8.R and prior generations, you can visually see that the race car is based (to some degree) on the road car. On the flip side, the LMDh and prior race cars are purpose-built cars that use a shared chassis made by Dallara; there is absolutely no mistaking that the LMDh car is based on a street car.
 
As I sit here watching Cadillac lead the Sebring race with 3.5 hours to go, the gears inside my head have started turning.

As you can see by my signature, I'm a Corvette and Cadillac XLR enthusiast and I've followed the rebirth of Corvette racing since the late 1990s.

Over the last several years, Cadillac has developed an impressive racing team and car, even though the race cars looking nothing like the production models.

Corvette marketing has done a great job of marketing the Corvette by spotlighting that, what they learn on the track from the race car, trickles down to the production automobile that rolls out of the dealer showroom.

So my question is, how much of what you learn from the Cadillac race cars, trickles down to the V-series line that rolls out of the dealership showroom?

There's no dispute, the Blackwings are impressive cars from many aspects but it's difficult for me to classify them as "sports cars".

The Corvette is and always has been, a true, 2-seater sports car. Cadillac, since it's inception, has been known for quality and luxury (let's just forget about the Catera for the sake of discussion, lol). The V-series line has done a pretty good job of trying to meld both qualities into one, but I feel like Cadillac continues to fight with an identity crisis.

To this day, the demise of the XLR still saddens me, but the high MSRP, was a death knell for the platform. I would have loved to see that model continue to grow and evolve and to truly see what's learned on the track today at Sebring, trickles down into an XLR sports car that combines performance and luxury, into a true, two-seater sports car.

When I see the Corvette C8.R on the track at Sebring, and I climb behind the wheel of a 2023 Corvette Z06, and press the start button, I have a degree of confidence, that there's a little bit of Sebring in the car that I just started.

I don't get that same feeling when I start up a Blackwing; it doesn't make me think of the Cadillac race cars at Sebring.
It is hard to identify with the class that Cadillac runs in in IMSA. I’d like to see a Blackwing based car operate in a class that you can still identify it in.
 
It is hard to identify with the class that Cadillac runs in in IMSA. I’d like to see a Blackwing based car operate in a class that you can still identify it in.
We were just having the same discussion. An IMSA Blackwing car would be a lot of fun to watch, but I just don't think Cadillac has the commitment in them for it! It's just too far out of their wheelhouse. One of the engineers on the Blackwing said they really had to push to get the manual trans back in the car, so that speaks volumes to their state of mind in racing.

I've had several Z06 Corvettes through the years (still have a '66 427) and it's great driving something that you can see the spirit of the car racing on the weekends.
 
Nice! Wasn’t sure if there were many Real racing fans here. Just got back from the race. Arrived for the WEC race Friday with the new blackwing (200miles) and stayed for the IMSA race but left with a few hours left and watched the last hour on tv
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I love endurance racing, and watching the Cadillac dpi's racing helped push me into buying my 4BW. Something about the juxtaposition between caddy's reputation (as comfortable luxury barges) and these monstrous race cars I was watching was really appealing. I appreciate any manufacturer committing to racing, so all the new prototype race cars this year has me very happy.

I'm really not sure what kind of crossover there is from the race cars to the road cars, but I do know Mizra and his team developed a killer pair of sports sedans. Both the race cars and road cars stand on their own. I would definitely die if they created a gt3/4 Blackwing.
 
Sports car racing has always been the most appealing to me because they race real cars you can buy. That's the part that makes it most fun. All other racing is based on purpose-built machines that meet the rules of the particular series.

But it is still exciting to see Cadillac participating in IMSA and WEC even though its not in a production-based Blackwing. I wish they did, but I still enjoy rooting for the Caddy's to win.

Glad you enjoyed the races. I went to a 6 hour WEC race here at COTA the first time they raced here. I thought I was a true live racing fan, but once the concept of a lead lap is lost, it loses interest for most people. You get the great sound track, but its just traffic at that point - there is zero visual indicator of who is winning or not. Shorter races with only 1 or 2 pit stops are much more entertaining. There is real racing for the lead and you can see it all the way around the track on every lap.
 
The old CTS-V and then ATS-V.R cars were a blast to watch in GT3/GTD. The LF4 comes directly from that car! Its actually kind of crazy when you consider that race car made close to 600hp at the crank, and the engines would only last a racing season. We have essentially the same equipment in a road car making almost 500hp at the crank and it will go at least 150K miles. Our street cars are packed with a couple of thousand pounds of sound deadening, heated ventilated seats, lane departure, lights, AC, airbags, rear seats, interior trim, acoustic glass, cup holders, safety reinforcements and ect..., the engine is choked by smog, noise and CAFE mpg standards and yet the race cars from just a few years ago and the BW street cars of today are able to throw times around a race track with a gap so unthinkably narrow just a half a decade ago.... crazy!!!!
I would love to see the Blackwings competing with Corvette and BMW again!
 
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The old CTS-V and then ATS-V.R cars were a blast to watch in GT3/GTD.
I posted in another thread about my sim racing (iRacing) hobby. iRacing has the CTS-V and it (along with the Corvette C6.R GT1 car) are a blast to drive. It even prompted a member to buy a CTS-V road car.

https://www.iracing.com/practice-on-sunday-sell-on-monday/ said:
“I drove the CTS-V online, then I went to the dealer based on my knowledge of the car from iRacing,” says Brown, who works as an instrumentation data technologist in the natural gas industry. “I drove the real car and had to have it. Originally I ordered a red sedan, but then I saw this black diamond coupe on the dealer’s lot . . . being an old hot-rodder, it was just too enticing. I like to say iRacing cost me $70,000!”
 
That was my first time at Sebring and it was a lot of fun with a great facility, fans, and racing. The Cadillac driving experience was not the same as Road America though with a small track as you just drove around the streets and could not really have fun. They did add an Escalade V and a regular ct4-v though. Still worth it for the hat though.
 
Good to know they still get you in the V at the Caddy Experience even today, SEBRING! AMAZING Chased the V3 and even before that was curious about Caddy "V Skunkworks". Short tracked the 4 and 5BW in Florida, loved it! Saved a few $$ and bought one! Very Cool @IMSA-01-fan
 

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