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[h=2]Cadillac: V is for Victory[/h] Monday, 30 January 2017


Cadillac's DPi-V brings V-Series performance and attitude to North American sports car racing

When the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship roars into action with the prestigious Rolex 24 at Daytona, Jan. 28-29, there will be a new manufacturer vying for honors in the Prototype Class. Cadillac, a name synonymous with American prestige and luxury, has been forging a reputation in the performance car segment, and the new DPi-V.R will be its most powerful hammer.

"The Cadillac V-Series is a change agent for the entire brand," says Rich Brekus, Global Director of Product Strategy for Cadillac. "And racing is the best way to buttress the portfolio of the V-Series cars with a very open display of our capabilities on the race track. The DPi-V.R is a way for the Cadillac brand to get people focusing on our technology and to start asking the right questions about our production cars."

Putting the cars on the race track will be the responsibility of two experienced and successful teams. Defending Prototype Class champions Action Express Racing will field two cars, while Wayne Taylor Racing will run one. Taylor himself drove for Cadillac during its last foray into top-level endurance racing from 2000 to 2002. For him, the marque's return is a matter of enormous pride...and unfinished business.

"First time around with Cadillac, we came so close to fulfilling our potential," he recalls, "so I always hoped it would return. In many other cases, I'd probably be very nervous bringing a new car to the Rolex 24. But with this car, I'm confident we have what it takes to succeed."

From Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen on down, the importance of the DPi-V.R program and what it represents for the marque can't be overstated. After the intensive months of design, build and testing, what comes next is to drive out of pit lane in Daytona with one mission – to win.


IN FOCUS: CADILLAC DPi-V.R
When IMSA announced its new DPi regulations for the fastest class in North American sports car racing, the stars aligned for Cadillac’s return to endurance racing.

Thanks to DPi’s dual emphasis on performance and relevance, cars built to race in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Prototype Class wouldn’t just be faster than before, they’d also share styling and technology with their street-car counterparts.

The aggressive looks and scalding performance of Cadillac’s V-Series cars have already changed perceptions of GM’s luxury brand, so the opportunity to take it to the next level by competing for overall wins at the most demanding and prestigious endurance races in North America was as logical as it was exciting.

“Cadillac has undergone a huge perception change over the past decade, most significantly within the performance car segment,” says Mark Kent, Director of Cadillac Racing. “This is an opportunity to get in front of a new audience in a way that may influence them to place Cadillac on their purchase consideration list. Moreover, it’s valuable in showcasing our engineering and performance capability.”

As Kent points out, the benefits of racing programs to manufacturers don’t begin and end with technology transfer, as important as that is. There are also the intangible benefits available to the workforce. Product engineers and designers given the opportunity to transition between production and motorsport duties gain a multitude of insights that ultimately help both areas.

Cadillac embraced the DPi regulations right out of the box. From the powertrain selection to the Cadillac design language informing the shape of the racecar, there’ll be no mistaking that it’s not only serious about winning at a brand level, but also at a competition level.

“Typically, there are conflicts between styling cues and performance,” says Kent. “But within our process, we had Dillon Blanski from the Cadillac design team work directly with (chassis manufacturer) Dallara, and as we verified with CFD and scale model testing, we didn’t give anything up in terms of performance.”

Multiple elements on the DPi-V.R, from the engine, to the headlight design, wheels and even the rearview camera, are direct manifestations of production elements, adapted for the demands of racing. So it’s up on the high banks of Daytona, the bumps of Sebring and the streets of Long Beach that Cadillac’s performance chops will be put through an arduous test of relevancy. A passing grade will be measured in visits to victory lane as well as orders on showroom floors.



FORM AND FUNCTION
The aggressive styling of the Cadillac DPi-V.R doesn't come at the expense of outright performance

To begin building a car to IMSA's new DPi regulations for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship's Prototype Class, Cadillac had to select from one of four approved chassis. Given GM's familiarity with Dallara through its Verizon IndyCar Series program, perhaps it's no surprise that the Italian company with an Indianapolis base was selected.

Next came engine choice, for which Cadillac had two viable options: use the twin-turbo V6 from the ATS-V.R that races in Pirelli World Challenge, or work with the architecture of the 6.2-liter V8 found in the CTS-V and Escalade models.

"We looked at all our options and in the recent history of IMSA, the V8 has performed quite well in the Prototype Class," says Mark Kent. "So this is an opportunity to showcase a different engine from the Cadillac range, which all our analysis indicates will be successful."

In DPi form, without the benefit of the CTS-V's supercharger and with IMSA-mandated air restrictors making it suck harder for breath, the engine is set to produce approximately 600hp at a maximum allowable 7,600rpm.

For the coupe's bodywork, Cadillac tabbed Dillon Blanski from Cadillac's Design Group to sculpt the new DPi-V.R. From the start, his brief was to pen a shape that would be beautiful in a Cadillac way and be fast. The iterative process began with several designs that were sent to Dallara for testing and feedback on potential improvements.

"Our primary areas of focus were the fender shapes, air intake and sidepods," says Blanski, "and as we worked to incorporate some Cadillac design language, we found that we weren't only achieving what we wanted for the brand elements, we were also hitting our performance targets.

"As an example, the air intake above the cockpit was designed with a shape to mimic the Cadillac crest, and the wind tunnel tests confirmed that it was fast."

Beneath the skin, Cadillac and Dallara worked closely to advance the suspension beyond its baseline using extensive simulator testing, as well as on track. Given that the car's new bodywork produced a considerably different aero profile versus the standard P2 bodywork, significant attention was paid to brakes and dampers.

As the car evolved, several of Cadillac's driver roster got behind the wheel in both the simulator and on track, with Wayne Taylor Racing veteran Max Angelelli handling the bulk of the work.

When the car appeared in public for the first time, at Daytona's December official test, over 2,000 miles had been logged.


STYLING WITH SUBSTANCE:
Taking styling cues from Cadillac's V-Series and integrating them into the DPi-V.R racecar without compromising performance was one of the mandates the design team had to contend with.

One of the signature elements of contemporary Cadillac design is the headlight arrangement. Utilizing the latest LED technology, the DPi-V.R carries cascading lights on the outer front edge of the front wheel fenders, similar to the daytime running lights on the CTS-V. The V-Series design ethos also informs the main lighting elements, with the housing emulating the CTS-V.

Another obvious visual link is the DPi-V.R's wheels. Built specifically for the demands of racing in terms of weight, aero characteristics and rigidity, the center face's design was taken directly from the V-Series.
As with other elements, Cadillac designer Dillon Blanski and his team also worked closely with chassis-builder Dallara on the aerodynamic profile to ensure that the styling cues not only added a brand presence, but also served as a purposeful performance element.