Category Archives: Team Cadillac

Cadillac CTS-V.R: Racing and winning in the Pirelli World Challenge

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Lead Photo CTS-Vs 02The Cadillac CTS-V series of vehicles are General Motors’ prestige performance cars that are challenging the best cars the world has to offer. Cadillac has thrown down the gauntlet in the marketplace and they’ve taken the offensive to the racetrack as well. Team Cadillac successfully competes in the Pirelli World Challenge with the CTS-V.R, a special racing version of the CTS-V Coupe. In 2014, Team Cadillac will be defending their manufacturer’s championships and the driver’s championships they won in 2012 and 2013.

Pirelli World Challenge Series

The Pirelli World Challenge (PWC) is a production-based road racing series that provides manufacturers a competitive arena in which to prove their products. PWC races are sprint races of 50 minutes duration. There are no scheduled pit stops, no driver changes and not a lot of racing strategy—if a driver is not starting at the front of the class, he or she has 50 minutes of flat-out driving to get there.

Cadillac CTS-V.R

The Cadillac CTS-V.R is a specially modified version of the CTS-V Coupe. Anything that does not contribute to the CTS-V.R accelerating faster, stopping quicker or handling better has been tossed out. It weighs in about 1,000 pounds lighter that the street-legal Coupe and is powered by a 6.2-liter V8 engine that is restricted by PWC rules to 505 horsepower. Brembo brakes provide enough stopping power to make your eyes bug out and Pirelli racing tires give it plenty of cornering grip.

CTS-V 02Team Cadillac Drivers

The CTS-V.R is undoubtedly a superb race car, but a team doesn’t win consecutive championships in the very competitive PWC without exceptional drivers, and Team Cadillac has two of the best—Johnny O’Connell and Andy Pilgrim. Both are experienced and talented, and both have won multiple drivers championships in the PWC for Cadillac in addition to being successful at Le Mans and Sebring. The competitive fire still burns intensely and once the green flag drops, no quarter is asked or given.

Here’s a video of Team Cadillac in action.

http://youtu.be/Tl6Uwl8xD-k

New Players for 2014

Team Cadillac’s quest for a manufacturer’s GT Class championship three-peat this year was thrown a potential stumbling block by a change in the PWC rules allowing FIA-homologated GT3 cars to compete in GT. The CTS-V.R will now have to go head-to-head against some of the best cars in the world—the Audi R8, McLaren 12C, Nissan GTR, Lamborghini Gallardo, Porsche GT3 R, Acura TLX-GT and the Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia.

After four races at three different venues this year, it looks like business as usual—Team Cadillac finds itself in first place in the manufacturer’s points, while Johnny and Andy are second and third in the driver’s standings.

The next race for Team Cadillac will be the V-Series Challenge at Belle Isle, in Detroit Mich. on the weekend of May 30-June 1. NBC Sports Network will broadcast the race on Sunday, June 15 at 2:30 p.m.

Tune in and root for Team Cadillac to extend their lead, and for Johnny and Andy to move up in the driver’s standings.

 

 

Cadillac – market to the performance aftermarket!

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C&C: Interesting Cars vs Daily Drivers #Motorama @Cadillac

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I was chatting with a Cadillac owner about his modified DTS at Cars & Coffee Dallas on Saturday when he said something that I found interesting — one of the reasons he wanted to visually modify his Cadillac was so people would recognize that it was a special vehicle with a lot of other nice touches.

Another data point that caught my attention was a Cars & Coffee guide from the Irvine California event:

What makes it “of interest?” How to define “unusual?” You’d get lots of opinions on that. One suggestion we’ve heard is… cars that aren’t driven to work every day. If it’s a car that is driven every day, odds are, it’s not a car that will get people out of bed at 6 a.m. on a Saturday. Of course there will be a few exceptions (we won’t penalize you if you drive your Talbot-Lotus to work), but that can be a general guide. […] We’re all about interesting AND unusual cars

And finally, during a chat with Charlie from burnoutradio.com he mentioned that one car show had the rule that a car needed to have customizations in 3 separate areas — one engine, one exhaust, and one interior for example — to qualify to enter the show.

Now, I had mixed feelings about my STS-V and Cars & Coffee.  I enjoy going regardless, but I was not sure if I wanted to “display” the V or just park to the side and enjoy seeing the other cars there.   I ended up pulling in and parking out of the way, but with the STS-V ready to show.  Luckily Emily and Charlie parked their STS-V next to mine, so we instantly had a Cadillac area and that settled that.

A lot of car guys love cars, but they can’t afford a hobby car that they can drive to work every day.  Either they have a long commute, or the interesting, fun, hobby car can’t live up to usage as a daily driver.  So they drive a small pickup or boring economy car every day, when they wish they could be in their fun car.

I am lucky in that my 2008 Cadillac STS-V is a fun car and my daily driver.  It is actually quite a bit more rare, with less than 500 produced, interesting, and a better performer than many of the cars shown at C&C  Dallas.

In fact, that is one of the reasons I decided to purchase a Cadillac V-Series — Cadillac is producing the V-Series as road and track performers for automotive enthusiasts.  Since I *am* a ‘car guy’ & automotive enthusiast, and a Cadillac fan, the V-Series is the right fit for me.

I don’t care where I park at C&C, although I was hoping and managed to meet & discuss Cadillacs with other Cadillac fans.  I will say that people did stroll over to look at the STS-Vs and I had some nice chats about the V-Series Cadillacs.

I am thrilled I get to drive an ‘Interesting Car’ every day.  I wish everyone did, and that the roads were full of interesting cars.

What do you think?  What makes an automobile “Interesting”?