- cadillac is the latest automaker to reveal plans to join the new lmdh class, which will be eligible in both the imsa series and the world endurance championship, which includes the 24 hours of le mans.
- the cadillac lmdh-v.r will have a unique gas-powered engine and bodywork but will share an identical chassis and hybrid system with all of the other lmdh cars.
- cadillac will partner with chip ganassi racing and action express racing, and will first enter the car at the 2023 rolex 24 hours of daytona, the flagship event in imsa.
cadillac has had incredible success in the imsa weathertech sportscar championship, winning the title in 2017 and 2018 and triumphing at the series' marquee event, the rolex 24 hours of daytona, four years in a row from 2017 to 2020. now cadillac joins a growing list of manufacturers that have declared their intent to challenge for victory at the 2023 24 hours of le mans, announcing plans to enter in the le mans daytona hybrid (lmdh) class for the 2023 season. this move will allow them to compete in both the u.s.-based imsa series and the fia-run world endurance championship, which includes the 24 hours of le mans.
the 2023 cadillac lmdh-v.r will represent the fourth generation of v-series racing prototypes. in lmdh, four companies—multimatic, dallara, oreca, and ligier—will supply identical chassis to the lmdh teams while bosch, williams advanced engineering, and xtrac will provide the hybrid systems to all competitors. however, the cadillac lmdh-v.r's hybrid system and bodywork will be unique. cadillac will source the chassis from dallara and will partner with chip ganassi racing and action express racing at the track.
after nine seasons, the world endurance championship has retired the lmp1 class, replacing the top category with a new hypercar class. this class will include cars that follow two sets of rules, the aforementioned lmdh regulations and the le mans hypercar (lmh) rules. the lmh class is less restrictive than lmdh but will also likely be more expensive. both classes will be eligible for the world endurance championship and the 24 hours of le mans in 2022, and lmh cars can join imsa in 2023. lmh cars already appeared in the 24 hours of le mans this year: toyota won with the new gr010, scuderia cameron glickenhaus entered two 007 lmhs, and alpine adapted a rebellion r13 gibson into the a480.
cadillac says the lmdh-v.r will race for the first time at the rolex 24 hours of daytona in january 2023 and can then be expected to enter the 24 hours of le mans the same year. along with toyota and glickenhaus, the lmh category will add peugeot and ferrari (partnering with af corse) by 2023. lmdh is proving more popular with manufacturers due to reduced costs. it will see porsche (teaming up with penske), audi, acura, and bmw join the fray, with several other automakers also rumored to be interested.