The Cadillac DPi-V.R ended up taking second place overall | Richard Prince/ Cadillac Racing

For 2017, IMSA has come around to the idea that if a manufacturer wants to run a prototype, it should bear some similarity to its road cars. So, for example, the new Cadillacs wear a chrome trim around the side glass, looking like the cutline on an ATS-V coupe. Its headlights also have the unmistakable Cadillac shape, and its vertical taillights carry on a design tradition that goes back to the 1940s.
But no manufacturer has taken this new rule to heart closer than Mazda. Prototypes have been pretty in the past, but the RT24-P is truly breathtaking. If a homologation rule was suddenly instituted, we doubt Mazda would have trouble selling a few hundred of these.
There were two cars at Daytona: a Soul Red car, number 70, and a Machine Gray car, number 55. Both come in colors you can buy a Miata in, and like the roadster, the RT24-P was penned by Julien Montousse, the head of Mazda design. It also has a similar five-point grille, teardrop headlights, and a side glass profile that echoes the new Miata RF. It even boasts a 2.0 liter inline-four like the Miata. But there are a few key differences, of course.