Cadillac Returning to Endurance Racing with the DPi-V.R Prototype

Cadillac's V Series has brought fantastic performance to the company's production lineup. Now, the carmaker is bringing some class back to the world of American road racing with a new Daytona Prototype race car called the Cadillac DPi-V.R.

The awkwardly-named DPi-V.R has been designed by Cadillac to race in the top level of the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, which it will do starting in early 2017.

The car, built on a Dallara chassis, uses a 6.2-liter naturally-aspirated V-8 motor—similar in some ways to the one used in the CTS-V and Escalade—which puts out about 600 horsepower in the set-up used for IMSA races. That power gets channeled through an X-Trac racing gearbox and a viscous mechanical limited-slip differential designed to keep the back wheels moving.

The last time Cadillac stepped foot in prototype endurance racing was back in 2002, when it competed with the Northstar LMP car at Le Mans. Following the 14-year hiatus, the DPi-V.R will make its debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January with two former Corvette prototype teams—Action Express Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing.

As is often the case with race cars, there are a couple design cues on the DPi-V.R that work to remind racing fans of the real-world cars the racer is out there waving the flag for. The wheels are similar to those available with the current, road-going CTS-V sedan, the taillights appear rather Cadillac-esque, and there's "V" badging all over the body. Our favorite on this prototype, though, has to be the use of the rear camera mirror that is apparently identical to the one used on the Escalade, CT6, CTS, and XT5.