Cadillac’s V-Series.R vehicle was born as a design exercise. As the COVID-19 pandemic began, the luxury brand’s design team was considering its future in racing. Designed in times of blockade, cross-country and ocean, remotely, with the participation of several design and engineering teams, the final product revealed itself in combat form, winning its place. on the podium in the competition. opening GTP race at IMSA’s 24 24 in Daytona.
Putting pen to paper: Studying Cadillac’s design
When Cadillac’s designers first started sketching, no automaker had committed to participating in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) and the World Endurance Championship (WEC). The supercar category will soon replace the old Daytona Prototype International race cars. Instead, the designers at General Motors’ Warren Technology Center in Michigan were looking to create something that reflected Cadillac’s updated image and futuristic style.
“This car has lived and died so many times,” Chris Mikalauskas, chief designer for Cadillac’s Exterior Workshop, told me. For Mikalauskas, the supercar concept will be the first race car he has designed. But he’s no stranger to the Cadillac brand: Mikalauskas has worked on CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing.
Mikalauskas says Cadillac’s intention is to explore a next-generation design for their racing car. He told me in a video chat after the Rolex 24 2023 event in Daytona: “A lot of the work we are doing is not just ethereal and visionary. The car that competed at Daytona originated as something designers just love to see in the office – the car you’ll pass by and turn around for one last glimpse. Mikalauskas looked to Cadillac’s golden celebrations and postwar designs for inspiration. Cadillac’s Jet-Age Style refers to aeronautical achievements and optimism about the future as the world sets its sights on the Space Race. Now, Mikalauskas wants to take that Space Race mentality and bring it into the 21st century.
“I feel like our brand DNA has always been about pulling those things into it,” says Mikalauskas. “I actually referenced the propellers, center floats, powerful vertical headlights and taillights – beautiful surfaces and sculptures throughout the car. These are all things that Cadillac has always owned. And really, it’s nice to put it in a package that we’ve never seen before.”
Finding balance in design
The V-Series.R project has been given the green light for the internal competition in February 2021, according to Laura Wontrop Klauser, GM motorsports director. (Cadillac will publicly announce its participation in the new IMSA series in August of that year.) Technically, they “started from scratch,” says Wontrop Klauser. In terms of design, the transition from design research to actual racing was not too difficult, because the car was always treated as a project by Cadillac Studio, just like any other car would be designed. design for final production. Mikalauskas describes technical meetings, talks about powertrains and aerodynamics. The most complicated aspect of this project is getting remote teams to work together during the pandemic.
Cadillac designers worked outside the GM Technology Center, in collaboration with the GM racing program in the United States as well as the brand’s chosen chassis partner, Dallara, in Italy. “We have clay models and detectors here in the studio that we will be working on, scanning them […] and move them back and forth abroad,” Mikalauskas said. Dallara will then conduct testing and development of computational fluid dynamics in Italy. Meanwhile, bodywork development is handled from Warren, Michigan.
The next task was to integrate Cadillac design elements into the finished product while paying attention to the specifications set by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, the governing body of IMSA and the World Endurance Championships. setting, while considering functional needs for optimal performance. Mikalauskas had particular difficulty with the front end, as the car needed specific airflows for the mechanical parts. “We’re trying to supply air to the splitter, we’re trying to supply air to the under-wing and mid-body channels, and also to cool the brakes,” he said. “We also had [air inlet for] powertrain to the top of the cockpit. When you have so many things that require air, and some of them contradict each other, it’s never easy.”
Mikalauskas had to take a step back and prioritize the functional parts of the design, then add styling elements. “I forced myself to […] allows to take over functions in some of those areas,” he said. “Some surfaces are more beautiful, more stylish than the ones you see first, such as the sculpture on the hood, the bodywork – all of which we can focus a lot of attention on. enter. That’s what you really see first. That and light are the two main ones.”
Lighting is key to the V-Series.R. Of course, the long acrylic panels on the original design concept have been trimmed down significantly, which Mikalouskas attributed to the series’ regulatory specifications. There is also an interesting design detail in the lighting. When the interior headlights are not in use during the day, they are covered by body-colored lids that are hidden away for a sleeker, more aggressive look.
Let’s call it a compromise
The Cadillac V-Series.R launching in June 2023 is not the final product. It largely resembles Cadillac’s engineering and design aspirations, combined with careful consideration of the series’ specifications. “And when you look at the car in the plan view, it is almost verbatim what we did last June,” says Mikalauskas. “That’s really cool, to be able to see that almost exactly as it was originally intended […] and become unique to everyone else on the grid.”
Of course, more will have to change once Cadillac’s drivers begin testing in the real world. Aerodynamics development is ongoing, both in the US and Italy, and biweekly meetings with drivers have helped synthesize feedback, refining the race car to help the No. 1 Cadillac Racing V race. -Series.R finished 3rd overall (and 3rd in class GTP) at Rolex 24.
The edits are not as dramatic as you might expect. Mikalauskas was able to apply his aerodynamic experience while working on Blackwing sedans for racing. “All the work we did in Blackwings to get […] moderate driving feel – all of that really applies directly to racing,” he says.
Mikalauskas is excited about a design cue that remains from concept to final product: floating wings, horizontal wings on the front and rear wheels. “I’m really excited that we can get [them] cut off the fender to deal with the mid-body channel, because no one else is doing it.
Finished product
When this year’s all-new hybrid supercars make their debut at the Rolex 24 2023 in Daytona, it’s easy to tell the competition apart. Cadillac, Acura, BMW car And porsche. As Mikalauskas noted, whether they are sitting still or racing, do you know which car belongs to each brand.
“I was actually just in the studio the day before and I was looking at the original demo that we designed and designed together. And it’s nice to have that comparison, now I see [V-Series.R] Mikalauskas said. “Much of what we put out for the preview was successful. And I think that just tells a really good story about when the design got involved earlier in the process. We can […] put the brand’s DNA in it without compromising on performance and as a result it became stronger.”
Cadillac’s V-Series.R cars finished their first race with a high score, avoiding the major technical problems experienced by Porsche and BMW. But there’s still a whole season left, with race on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. “Really to be able to compete with brands like Ferrari, that is what allows you to prove to the public that you are a top brand,” says Mikalauskas. “I think it will be great to see how things go, but I am very excited to see the car overseas. That’s where the rest of the world gets to see it on the stage it deserves.”
