Cadillac announced its LMDh programme on 24 August 2021, simultaneously confirming Dallara as chassis partner and Action Express Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing as the first IMSA campaigners. The programme's exterior was designed by Chris Mikalauskas, with Aaron Pfeifer serving as vehicle technical lead and Adam Trojanek as lead propulsion engineer.
The car uses a Cadillac LMC55R 5.5-litre naturally aspirated 90-degree V8 engine, one of the largest displacement units in its class, producing a combined system output of 500 kW (680 PS). The hybrid system comprises a 50 kW rear motor-generator unit supplied by Bosch, with standardised LMDh hybrid components also provided by Williams Advanced Engineering and Xtrac. Transmission is an Xtrac P1359 seven-speed sequential manual. Minimum weight is 1,030 kg. Brakes are Brembo carbon 380/355 mm units with Brembo Monobloc six-piston calipers, and tyres are Michelin slicks on OZ one-piece forged alloys.
A shakedown was completed in July 2022, followed by extensive testing at Sebring International Raceway and Road Atlanta covering approximately 19,312 km before the race debut.
The V-Series.R made its global debut at the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona. All three cars ran in Cadillac's logo colours — yellow (#01 Chip Ganassi Racing), blue (#02 Chip Ganassi Racing), and red (#31 Action Express Racing / Whelen Engineering Racing). The leading #01 Cadillac fell to third at the finish behind two Acura ARX-06 cars, while Action Express secured a podium.
The car's first victory came at the 2023 12 Hours of Sebring with Action Express Racing, recovering from an early collision with an LMP3 car. In the FIA WEC, the blue #2 car driven by Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, and Richard Westbrook finished third at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans — Cadillac's first return to Le Mans since the 2002 race with the Northstar LMP, 21 years earlier. Westbrook described the podium as a great start to the programme.
Further IMSA victories followed at the 2023 Motul Course de Monterey. At Petit Le Mans, Cadillac and Action Express Racing secured the Teams, Drivers, and Manufacturers championships in a season-long battle against Acura and teams Wayne Taylor Racing and Meyer Shank Racing.
Chip Ganassi Racing qualified on pole at the 2024 24 Hours of Daytona via a track-record lap by Pipo Derani, with Action Express subsequently running at the front before finishing second, only 2.112 seconds behind the winning Porsche 963. Chip Ganassi Racing took two wins in 2024 IMSA competition, the most notable at the 2024 Petit Le Mans. In the WEC, 2024 began with a disqualification for a technical breach and a high-speed crash in the opening rounds, limiting the programme's results.
For 2025, Chip Ganassi Racing departed and factory IMSA operations passed to Wayne Taylor Racing, while Hertz Team Jota took over the WEC programme with cars numbered #12 and #38. At the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans qualifying session, Jota secured a front-row lockout for Cadillac — Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber taking the top two positions, marking Cadillac's first-ever Le Mans pole position. Lynn backed it up with another pole at the following 2025 6 Hours of São Paulo, where the #12 car won the race, securing Cadillac's maiden FIA World Endurance Championship victory and a 1-2 finish with the #38 car.
Action Express Racing, now running as Cadillac Whelen, carried the V-Series.R's strongest 2026 IMSA form, winning the 2026 Detroit Sports Car Classic. As of the most recent results in the corpus, Action Express led the 2026 IMSA GTP standings.
Principal operators of the V-Series.R across IMSA and the WEC have included Action Express Racing (Whelen Engineering Racing / Cadillac Whelen), Chip Ganassi Racing (Cadillac Racing), Wayne Taylor Racing, and Hertz Team Jota. Notable drivers across the programme include Sébastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon, Renger van der Zande, Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, Richard Westbrook, Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims, Jack Aitken, and Jenson Button.
Across 26 starts (as of the corpus data through the 2026 Detroit Sports Car Classic), the V-Series.R accumulated 7 wins, 14 podiums, 9 pole positions, and 7 fastest laps. It holds one Teams Championship, one Constructors Championship, and one Drivers Championship, all from the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship season.
Gallery · 4 related images
