MEMBERSHIP LOGIN
JOIN PRI
Cadillac Unveils ATS-V.R Race Car
Image
Cadillac’s 2015 motorsports plans are clear after the manufacturer on Friday revealed its all-new ATS-V.R GT3-spec race car.
Cadillac officials and drivers Andy Pilgrim and Johnny O’Connell were on hand at Circuit of the Americas near Austin, Texas, for the unveiling to a small group of media. Both racers will return to drive for Cadillac Racing in the 2015 Pirelli World Challenge series following months of speculation that the manufacturer could take its racing effort elsewhere.
However, because the ATS-V.R is—as expected for some time—built to GT3 specifications, it is eligible for racing in no less than 30 various GT racing series around the world, giving Cadillac many options and much flexibility for an expanded competition future outside of World Challenge events. However, 2015 will serve as a development year for the ATS-V.R, so Cadillac officials do not plan to offer customer cars for sale next season, though they are evaluating such a program for the near future.
The race car’s unveiling came just days before Cadillac reveals the production model ATS-V coupe and sedan at this week’s Los Angeles Auto Show. The road cars go on sale next spring.
The ATS-V.R’s LF4.R engine will produce up to 600 hp when unrestricted, though it won’t make that much power in World Challenge trim. The V6 is the racing version of the LF3 twin-turbo 3.6-liter engine found already in Cadillac’s CTS Vsport production sedan. Upgrades for the GT3 car include larger, twin BorgWarner turbochargers, increased capacity intercoolers, competition engine management and a direct, side-exiting exhaust. The car features a weight distribution of 49 percent front, 51 percent rear, thanks in part to the Xtrac-built paddle-shift gearbox, a six-speed transaxle.
The steel unibody structure comes straight off the production assembly line at General Motor’s Lansing, Michigan, Grand River plant and then receives a full rollcage. The engine features several LF3 production parts, including cylinder heads, block, throttle bodies and some valvetrain parts that include the valves themselves, the cam drive and variable valve timing. The race car gets a second fuel pump; both of its dual fuel pumps come from GM’s family of turbocharged four-cylinder engines. Its carbon-fiber body panels are of course all race-car specific.
“The V-Series is the highest expression of Cadillac’s rising product substance,” said Johan de Nysschen, Cadillac president. “Elevating and expanding the V-Series is the next logical step in Cadillac’s growth, including this new race car developed in GT3-specification, enabling us to pursue racing on a more global scale.”
“This car sounds wicked and screams like it’s ripping holes in the air. I love it,” said Pilgrim, the 2005 World Challenge champion and fourth-place finisher in 2014. “We have paddle gear shifters for the first time, and I’m enjoying the new tools. The engine torque is remarkable, as always, pulling strongly out of the corners.”
To meet FIA GT3 specifications, Pratt & Miller Engineering, which runs Cadillac’s racing program, redesigned the ATS-V.R’s fenders to accommodate wide—315 mm front, 325 rear—FIA-mandated, 18-inch slick tires. Other modifications include an aggressive aero kit featuring a large rear wing and a carbon-fiber front splitter with corner-mounted dive planes. A full undertray directs air beneath the car to the rear diffuser.
O’Connell—the 2014 World Challenge champion—echoed teammate Pilgrim’s enthusiasm for the ATS-V.R, which despite the team also winning this year’s World Challenge manufacturers’ championship, will be much more suited to competing head to head with GT3 cars from McLaren, Bentley, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche, Audi and BMW. Cadillac in 2014 at times struggled to keep its now-retired CTS-V.R on pace with its latest rivals.
“The Cadillac ATS-V.R is a 170-mph billboard for the next generation of Cadillac’s V-Series,” said O’Connell. “On top of its power, its aerodynamic package should pay off in the fast corners, and I’m looking forward to unleashing it.”
Following Cadillac’s reveal of the ATS-V coupe and sedan in Los Angeles, it will in January pull the wraps off of its next-generation CTS-V at the 2015 Detroit auto show.
Cadillac officials and drivers Andy Pilgrim and Johnny O’Connell were on hand at Circuit of the Americas near Austin, Texas, for the unveiling to a small group of media. Both racers will return to drive for Cadillac Racing in the 2015 Pirelli World Challenge series following months of speculation that the manufacturer could take its racing effort elsewhere.
However, because the ATS-V.R is—as expected for some time—built to GT3 specifications, it is eligible for racing in no less than 30 various GT racing series around the world, giving Cadillac many options and much flexibility for an expanded competition future outside of World Challenge events. However, 2015 will serve as a development year for the ATS-V.R, so Cadillac officials do not plan to offer customer cars for sale next season, though they are evaluating such a program for the near future.
The race car’s unveiling came just days before Cadillac reveals the production model ATS-V coupe and sedan at this week’s Los Angeles Auto Show. The road cars go on sale next spring.
The ATS-V.R’s LF4.R engine will produce up to 600 hp when unrestricted, though it won’t make that much power in World Challenge trim. The V6 is the racing version of the LF3 twin-turbo 3.6-liter engine found already in Cadillac’s CTS Vsport production sedan. Upgrades for the GT3 car include larger, twin BorgWarner turbochargers, increased capacity intercoolers, competition engine management and a direct, side-exiting exhaust. The car features a weight distribution of 49 percent front, 51 percent rear, thanks in part to the Xtrac-built paddle-shift gearbox, a six-speed transaxle.
The steel unibody structure comes straight off the production assembly line at General Motor’s Lansing, Michigan, Grand River plant and then receives a full rollcage. The engine features several LF3 production parts, including cylinder heads, block, throttle bodies and some valvetrain parts that include the valves themselves, the cam drive and variable valve timing. The race car gets a second fuel pump; both of its dual fuel pumps come from GM’s family of turbocharged four-cylinder engines. Its carbon-fiber body panels are of course all race-car specific.
“The V-Series is the highest expression of Cadillac’s rising product substance,” said Johan de Nysschen, Cadillac president. “Elevating and expanding the V-Series is the next logical step in Cadillac’s growth, including this new race car developed in GT3-specification, enabling us to pursue racing on a more global scale.”
“This car sounds wicked and screams like it’s ripping holes in the air. I love it,” said Pilgrim, the 2005 World Challenge champion and fourth-place finisher in 2014. “We have paddle gear shifters for the first time, and I’m enjoying the new tools. The engine torque is remarkable, as always, pulling strongly out of the corners.”
To meet FIA GT3 specifications, Pratt & Miller Engineering, which runs Cadillac’s racing program, redesigned the ATS-V.R’s fenders to accommodate wide—315 mm front, 325 rear—FIA-mandated, 18-inch slick tires. Other modifications include an aggressive aero kit featuring a large rear wing and a carbon-fiber front splitter with corner-mounted dive planes. A full undertray directs air beneath the car to the rear diffuser.
O’Connell—the 2014 World Challenge champion—echoed teammate Pilgrim’s enthusiasm for the ATS-V.R, which despite the team also winning this year’s World Challenge manufacturers’ championship, will be much more suited to competing head to head with GT3 cars from McLaren, Bentley, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche, Audi and BMW. Cadillac in 2014 at times struggled to keep its now-retired CTS-V.R on pace with its latest rivals.
“The Cadillac ATS-V.R is a 170-mph billboard for the next generation of Cadillac’s V-Series,” said O’Connell. “On top of its power, its aerodynamic package should pay off in the fast corners, and I’m looking forward to unleashing it.”
Following Cadillac’s reveal of the ATS-V coupe and sedan in Los Angeles, it will in January pull the wraps off of its next-generation CTS-V at the 2015 Detroit auto show.
