Payne: Cadillac, Porsche launch the gas-powered, racing future

Posted by Talbot Payne on February 21, 2022

Auto racing doesn’t appear to be speeding into an electric future anytime soon.

Cadillac and Porsche teased their all-new, world endurance sports cars in the past month and they are powered by good ol’ V-8 engines. Global sports-car sanctioning bodies are touting the “electrification” of their powertrains, but the new so-called hybrid prototypes that will roll out at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2023 are a long way from the battery-powered future touted by their manufacturers.

GM Design sketch of a hybrid-V8-powered Cadillac prototype constructed to the new IMSA and WEC Le Mans Daytona hybrid (LMDh) regulations.

The gas-powered engines at the core of the mild hybrid systems are at odds with the batteries that luxury brands say will power their mass-market cars by decade’s end. The jarring disconnect is an indication of the challenges electric powertrains face in stressful conditions and in the race-to-street technology transfer that automakers have long relied on to advance production engineering.

“The mild hybrid systems give automakers that electrification cred,” said veteran racing expert Stephen Cole Smith of Autoweek. “But we’re not hearing anything about electric racing in the IMSA paddock.”

U.S.-based IMSA (International Motor Sports Association) and Europe-based WEC (World Endurance Championship) have joined forces beginning next year to offer international automakers a common technology platform to race the world’s fastest sports cars from Daytona to Le Mans to Fuji, Japan.

Racing’s gas-fired future echoes the prediction of Bloomfield Hills-based IMSA and IndyCar team owner Roger Penske last year, when he told media at the Detroit Grand Prix that “I don’t think you’re going to see the world go all-electric. I think you’ll see hybrid solutions in all kinds of transportation sectors.” Penske’s prediction dovetails with consumer sentiment, where EVs make up a sliver of auto sales, but runs contrary to government regulations that are forcing automakers to go electric.

Penske is at the heart of race-to-street technology transfer as owner of multiple Porsche dealerships that are selling Porsche’s first EVs, the Taycan and Taycan Cross Turismo.

But the much-anticipated Porsche GTP race car, sharing a common hybrid-electric motor with other competitors, that Team Penske will bring to Daytona next year will be powered by a twin-turbo V-8 engine more familiar to Porsche’s gas model customers.

Porsche showed camouflaged pictures on Jan. 27 of the wicked-looking winged racer as it began its intensive test program.

“In selecting the combustion engine to complement the standard hybrid elements, Porsche opted for a large-capacity twin-turbo V8 unit,” said Porsche in a press release. “In the race, the system output of the hybrid drive reaches around 670 horsepower.”

Manufacturers traditionally use production engines in their race cars as a marketing tool — and as a means for engineers to test drivetrains to the limits of performance in grueling, endurance racing environments. Porsche races a similar flat-6 cylinder gas engine in its IMSA GT-class car as it sells in its Porsche 911 street car. The twin-turbo V-8 appears to be similar to the engine in the Panamera sedan and Cayenne SUV.

The electric Taycan’s electric drivetrain is nowhere in sight.

“We decided on the V8-biturbo, which we feel offers the best combination of performance characteristics, weight and costs,” explained Thomas Laudenbach, vice president for Porsche Motorsport.

Cadillac will also enter a GTP car to compete against Team Penske’s Porsche — as well as entries from Acura, Audi and BMW (with Lamborghini expected to join the fray in 2024).

Like Porsche, GM’s lux brand will have a V-8 at its core, likely a similar block to that used in the brand’s ferocious CT5-V Blackwing performance sedan and Escalade V SUV. Cadillac will share more details this summer.

“While the new race car will take into account IMSA and (WEC) regulations, Cadillac’s brand characteristics will be instantly recognizable, many of which are seen on our V-Series vehicles today,” said Chris Mikalauskas, Caddy’s lead designer, as the brand teased its prototype in a video Feb. 9 with an unmistakable V-8 soundtrack. In addition to its 2023 Daytona debut, the Cadillac GTP will mark the brand’s return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time in 21 years.

Ironically, Cadillac parent GM pioneered mild hybrid technology (which provides limited electric assist to the gas engine) but abandoned hybrids entirely in recent years to focus on its Ultium battery platform for all-electric vehicles.

“There is a disconnect here from what GM is touting as its future,” said Autoweek’s Cole Smith. “There is no technology-to-street transfer with their hybrid race car. Electric cars aren’t ready for a 24-hour race. That technology is at least a generation away.”

The stresses of auto racing magnify the advantages of gas-powered engines. At 116,090 BTUs per gallon, gasoline is an energy-dense power source ideal for quick pit-stop refueling. At 88,258 BTU/gallon, E85 ethanol is also used in series like IndyCar. Batteries hold much less energy and therefore add considerable weight to race cars. When they run out of juice, they require a long time — and lots of electric power — to recharge.

Liquid alternatives like E85 and diesel have been easier for racing series to adopt. After European governments pushed the transformation to diesel engines at the turn of the 21st century, manufacturers including Audi and Peugeot fielded Le Mans-winning, diesel-powered race cars.

Due to their inherent weight and range challenges, Cole Smith says electric racing applications will likely be for shorter, sprint racing like Rallycross and Formula E. Despite millions in manufacturer investments, the latter has struggled to gain fans with BMW and Audi both pulling out to concentrate on gas-powered series like IMSA/WEC prototypes.

“Formula E hasn’t gotten any money out of their investment,” Penske said last year. “The manufacturers are focused on what motorsports they want to be in. You need to have something in your brand that shows you can win.”

For now, winning on track and in the showroom means fielding gas engines. This Sunday, NASCAR will introduce its V8-powered car of the future.

“I can’t imagine NASCAR going electric anytime soon,” said Cole Smith. “People don’t want to go to the Daytona 500 and see 42 cars come around the high bankings making no sound at all.”

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

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