How Far Could Cadillac Have Gone?

[JohnBM01]

http://www.mulsannescorner.com/index.htm

Here are more websites looking back on the Cadillac LMP race cars (from same site):

http://www.mulsannescorner.com/cadillac.htm (2000)
http://www.mulsannescorner.com/cadillaclmp01.html (2001)
http://www.mulsannescorner.com/cadillaclmp02.html (2002)

On record, it still remains as my favorite Cadillac. Even though it's not a street car, it looks better than most street Caddilacs today (in my view). I really wanted this program to do very well. What impressed me most about it was that its fuel mileage was impressive when I seen it race the 2000 Daytona 24 Hour Race (debut of the Grand-American Road Racing Association). Honestly, I kind of imagined seeing this maybe being a front runner at Le Mans, Petit Le Mans, Sebring... all the bigtime endurance races. I wanted to see it win and be as successful as they want to be. Of course, nothing is meant to be, and the same couldn't be said any better than in auto racing. So this thread is all about Cadillac's LMP efforts with the Northstar LMP. It's a beautiful machine, perhaps even a powerful one, but where did this program fail? Was the racing too tough for them to maybe get a big win over the Audi R8s? Could it, perhaps, be the return of America winning the big sportscar races over the bigtime European companies? How far could Cadillac have gone? Reply now. Also around this time, think about Cadillac vs. Panoz in terms of American sportscar teams going at it.

 

[Layla's Keeper]

Well, as I recall, around the time the order came down for Wayne Taylor and the gang to shelve the Caddy LMP02 it was starting to show equal speed to the Champion Audi and Panoz LMP1's while still about a second or so off the pace of the Joest factory Audis.

The LMP02 really was a classy car that had two tons of potential. It cured the drag and weight problems of the first Caddy LMP (which were inevitable since the first car was so heavily based on the Riley & Scott MkIII) but because the first Caddy was a mid-pack brick of a car that really didn't even show up Dyson's Ford powered R&S MkIII's, Caddy said screw this and gave Pratt & Miller a pair of CTS-V's.

It's a decision that makes sense from the standpoint that Bob Lutz wanted the money being poured into the LMP program spent on developing new road models and racing the then new CTS-V, but I wanted that LMP02 kicking some Audi panzer @ss.

 

[JohnBM01]

Well, there's usually a big learning curve in sportscar racing. You can't expect to dominate races all the time unless you have deep testing and be able to troubleshoot for any reliability problems. You have to stay in the hunt all the time. If you don't, you're going to DNF all the time. If you can hang with ANY Audi R8, there's no reason why your car should back down. So far, the last Prototype 1 to beat Audi (that I can recall) was the now-retired Panoz LMP Roadster. That car had one unique quality, a front/rear setup, as opposed to the usual mid/rear setup in all or most sportscars. I really wanted Cadillac to have something to live for in bigtime sportscar racing. I'd hate to not see the Cadillac sportscars at least get podiums. This is a beautiful machine capable of winning at least one race. I don't know about a Cadillac LMP winning any of the big endurances (Sebring, Le Mans, Petit Le Mans).

Not just America, but I can remember the late ELMS (European Le Mans Series) having these black Cadillac LMPs back in 2000 and 2001. I have a picture of the 2001 Cadillac Northstar LMP done up in silver and black with red accents. I really think Cadillac could have been a pure performer in sportscar racing, and I still do. It's just a shame that the program didn't really go in a positive direction.

I hate bringing this up, but do you think Cadillac could have great sportscar success in Daytona Prototypes (or can you imagine a Cadillac DP?), or do you think Cadillac could have given it one more go in bigtime sportscar racing?

 

[Layla's Keeper]

Well, considering that GM is pushing the Pontiac brand in Grand Am (especially since they have Wayne Taylor, the guy who was chief of development and the #1 driver on the Caddy LMP team, now running a #1 driver and chief of development on the Suntrust Pontiac Riley team) it's doubtful they'd ever want Cadillacs in Grand Am.

Besides, Max Papis, Andy Pilgrim, and Max Angelelli swept the podium at the Speed World Challenge GT race at Road Atlanta this weekend AND Caddy is lobbying to get 4dr's allowed in ACO GT2/FIA GT2 competition so that they can expand the reach of the CTS-V program.