{"id":29295,"date":"2022-06-03T08:52:27","date_gmt":"2022-06-03T12:52:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=29295"},"modified":"2022-06-03T08:52:27","modified_gmt":"2022-06-03T12:52:27","slug":"payne-at-detroit-grand-prix-cadillacs-electric-and-v-8-brands-co-exist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/payne-at-detroit-grand-prix-cadillacs-electric-and-v-8-brands-co-exist","title":{"rendered":"Payne: At Detroit Grand Prix, Cadillac’s electric and V-8 brands co-exist"},"content":{"rendered":"

Belle Isle<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Cadillac Racing isn’t following the brand\u2019s electric makeover just yet. Two weeks after the quiet Cadillac Lyriq \u2014 the first model in all-electric-by-2030 lineup \u2014 opened for customer orders, Cadillac will headline the Detroit Grand Prix with its window-rattling, V8-powered\u00a0Cadillac DPi-V.R IMSA Weathertech sports car.<\/p>\n

Don’t expect to see the\u00a0Lyriq on Belle Isle. There will, however, be a fleet of high-performance, gas-fired V-series hellions at Cadillac’s customer display – including the\u00a0all-new, 682-horsepower, 2023 Cadillac Escalade-V stuffed with a similar, growling V-8 mill as the race car on track.<\/p>\n

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The DPi-V.R and its production brethren give a glimpse at racing\u2019s V8-powered, hybrid future when Cadillac Racing debuts its next-gen racer at IMSA\u2019s Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in January, 2023. The so-called GTP Hypercar will gain a rear-axle electric motor in an attempt to build a bridge to electrification. But the V-8 monster is more in line with the brand\u2019s gas-powered, V-series performance models than the Lyriq EV.<\/p>\n

Auto racing has long been a key piece of performance vehicle\u00a0marketing. The\u00a0paradox of\u00a0Cadillac\u2019s racing and consumer futures shines a light on\u00a0the difficulties EVs face as they try to become more than a niche consumer market. Like 97% of the U.S. buying public that did not purchase an EV in 2021, endurance racing is a challenging environment for\u00a0electric vehicles, where quick fuel\u00a0stops, high speeds\u00a0and long distances\u00a0aren’t conducive to battery power.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe are getting ready for the pivot to EVs. As you look at the Cadillac entries, we will be racing next year, (those) vehicles will also have an internal combustion engine and hybridization which will develop some electrification benefits to the vehicles during the race,\u201d said GM\u2019s U.S. vice president for motorsports, Jim Campbell, in an interview here before the race weekend kicks off. \u201cThat hybrid piece winds up being a pivot piece as well . . . as racing organizations around the world determine where electrification fits into their racing future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Interestingly, GM was a pioneer in hybrid drivetrains at the turn of the 21st\u00a0century before shelving\u00a0the technology in 2019 when the last Chevrolet Volt rolled off the assembly line. Like pure electrics, hybrids were once hailed as the future of transportation \u2014 in 2009, a consensus of auto executives in an IBM survey predicted 100% of sales would be hybrid by 2020 \u2014 but they only account for 5% of sales today.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOver time, we\u2019ll work with the series over when is the right time to put in another step in electrification,\u201d said Campbell. \u201cThe hybrid is that interim step and they will be coming next year in GTP here in IMSA.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hybrid solution allows manufacturer-supported race series to check the electrification box while still giving race fans the visceral thrill of speed and sound they have craved for decades.<\/p>\n