Motown muscle: Cadillac documentary lights off Detroit assault on 24 Hours of Le Mans

Posted by Talbot Payne on May 10, 2024

Get ready to ruuuuuuumble.

Motor City muscle is going to France this June to take on the world’s best in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world’s greatest endurance race. Cadillac on Thursday announced a feature-length, 90-minute documentary, “No Perfect Formula,” that will debut May 31 detailing the past year’s development of its wicked-fast, V8-powered Cadillac V-Series.R LMDh hybrid prototype.

Cadillac will be joined in its Le Mans pursuit by Motown brands Ford and Chevrolet. They will be duking it out in, respectively, Mustang and Corvette sportscars for GT-class supremacy against Euro-icons like Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin. And then there’s The Captain. Detroit’s best known racing boss, Roger Penske, has teamed up with Porsche’s LMDh hybrid prototype program to try to win one of the few trophies the 19-time Indy 500 winner doesn’t have on his mantel.

No Perfect Formula, a documentary about Cadillac's quest to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, airs may 31.

No Perfect Formula, a documentary about Cadillac’s quest to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, airs may 31.Cadillac, GM

“For more than a century, racing has provided a test-bed for Cadillac to transfer knowledge and technology between race cars and production vehicles, and a way to build a fanbase for the brand around the world,” said Cadillac Global Vice President John Roth. “2023 was a pivotal year for Cadillac Racing, and ‘No Perfect Formula’ captures the emotion.”

The massive racing investment comes at a tricky time for automakers as governments in Europe and the United States are forcing their production models to go all-electric. Yet, the American race cars entered in Le Mans June 15 are all powered by bread-and-butter V-8s drinking gas and rattling French windows. As electric powertrains go quiet, racing is more important than ever to define performance brands.

“Motorsport still doesn’t believe that there’s much interest in electric vehicles,” said Stephen Cole Smith, veteran racing writer for Hagerty. “The industry has misread the demand for EVs. I don’t know of anyone in motorsports who thinks there is a fan market there. The V8-powered race cars are an indication of what people want to see and hear.”

The #31 Cadillac GTP and Porsche Penske GTP racers battled to the finish at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in January. Both will vie for a win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

The #31 Cadillac GTP and Porsche Penske GTP racers battled to the finish at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in January. Both will vie for a win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. HZ, Porsche / Juergen Tap

French fans will hear plenty from Detroit’s thundering V-8s married to hybrid powertrains. The Cadillac and Porsche Penske prototypes exit pit lane under electric power before the V-8s thunder to life for 200 mph racing. “The hybrid gives manufacturers plausibility for governments who want to push EVs,” said Cole Smith.

The two Cadillacs entered at Le Mans sport 670-horsepower, 5.5-liter V-8s, the three Porsche Penskes a twin-turbocharged, 4.5-liter V-8. The GT cars are non-hybrid. The Ford Mustang LMGT3 features a 5.5-liter V-8, and the Corvette a 5.5-liter V-8 that screams like a Ferrari.

After its debut at 7 p.m. May 31, “No Perfect Formula” will repeat at 7 p.m. each Friday leading up to the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 15–16. Viewers can find it on the Samsung TV Plus app, then navigate to Hagerty’s FAST Channel 1194.

The documentary focuses on Cadillac’s 2023 effort — for the first time in over two decades — to win the French race, and the company says the documentary doesn’t sugarcoat the challenges involved. It follows the highs and lows of a year-long journey that saw Caddy capture third place at Le Mans in June, and ultimately the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

At the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, it was Mustang v Corvette in the GT class. They will take their battle to Le Mans in June. (Credit: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)

At the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, it was Mustang v Corvette in the GT class. They will take their battle to Le Mans in June. Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Last year kicked off a new era of international sportscar racing with the hybrid prototype and GT classes. The new rules allow Detroit automakers to use the same race cars in North America’s IMSA series as well as international FIA series that include Le Mans. The changes brought a renewed assault on Le Mans form automakers like Ford and Chevy that have won the race in the past. For Penske and Cadillac, it’s a golden opportunity to win for the first time.

“As Cadillac moves to an electric future, the LMDh regulations offer a unique opportunity to gather key learnings from these advanced hybrid propulsion systems,” said GM sportscar program manager Laura Wontrop Klauser,. “The Cadillac V-Series.R’s V-8 provides a familiar powertrain platform to work with, and the byproduct is an unmistakable sound that is instantly identifiable as a Cadillac.”

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.

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