Excellent Condition on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Cadillac is building an LMDh car, will compete in WEC and Le Mans

Cadillac returned to sports car racing back in 2017 with its DPi race car, and it has had a successful run with it. It won four Rolex 24 Hour races at Daytona from 2017 to 2020, and took home two championships. So it's not totally surprising that it will continue running in the IMSA series with a new LMDh-class car. But that also means that Cadillac can, and will, race in the World Endurance Championship series, which includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This is because LMDh is a class that will be legal in both IMSA and WEC racing, as will the LMH hypercar class. So Cadillac will be taking on hypercars from Toyota, Peugeot and Glickenhaus. Audi and Porsche have announced plans to run LMDh racecars as well, so it will be a crowded field. There have even been rumors of a Dodge-badged version of the Peugeot 9x8 LMH car as well as a Lamborghini LMDh entry. Per LMDh rules, the car will feature a spec chassis and hybrid unit, but the engine and bodywork will be unique to the Cadillac. Unlike LMH, there are no requirements to build road-going versions, so we sadly won't see a wild mid-engine Cadillac hybrid supercar on the streets (unless Cadillac just decides to build one; don't hold your breath). But we'll still be excited to see another American manufacturer compete for an overall win at Le Mans. Cadillac will team up with Dallara, Chip Ganassi Racing and Action Express Racing for vehicle development and competition. The car will make its racing debut at the 2023 Rolex 24 at Daytona in January of that year. All we have to go on for the car's looks is the rendering at the top, which suggests a seriously angular shape. It will also be called the LMDh-V.R, similar to the current DPi-V.R racecar. Related Video:

GM CEO Mary Barra predicts mass electrification will take decades

General Motors is allocating a substantial amount of money to the development of electric technology, but Mary Barra, the firm's CEO, conceded that battery-powered cars won't fully replace their gasoline-burning counterparts for several decades. She stressed the shift is ongoing, but she hinted it will be slower than many assume. "We believe the transition will happen over time," affirmed Barra on "Leadership Live with David Rubenstein," a talk show aired by Bloomberg Television. She added that not every car will be electric in 2040. "It will happen in a little bit longer period, but it will happen," she told the host. She was presumably talking about the United States market; the situation is markedly different in Europe and in China, where strict government regulations (and even stricter ones on the horizon) are accelerating the shift towards electric cars. On the surface, it doesn't look like General Motors has much invested in electrification; the only battery-powered model it sells in America in 2020 is the Chevrolet Bolt (pictured), which undeniably remains a niche vehicle. Sales totaled 16,418 units in 2019, meaning the Corvette beat it by about 1,500 sales. In comparison, Cadillac sold 35,424 examples of the aging last-generation Escalade during the same time period. And yet, the company isn't giving up. It has numerous electric models in the pipeline including a slightly larger version of the aforementioned Bolt, the much-hyped GMC Hummer pickup, and an electric crossover assigned to the Cadillac brand. These models (and others) will use the Ultium battery technology that General Motors is currently developing. Its engineers are also working on a modular platform capable of underpinning a wide variety of cars. Bringing these innovations to the market is a Herculean task. EVs may not take over for decades, but Barra and her team must believe their 2% market share will increase significantly in the coming years if they're approving these programs. Autonomous technology is even costlier, more complicated, and more time-consuming to develop. Barra nonetheless expects to see the first General Motors-built driverless vehicles on the road by 2025. "I definitely think it will happen within the next five years. Our Cruise team is continuing to develop technology so it's safer than a human driver. I think you'll see it clearly within five years," she said on the same talk show. Her statement is vague but realistic.

Cadillac Escalade reportedly getting 200-hp bump from supercharger

Cadillac is preparing to supercharge the Escalade, according to a recent report. The body-on-frame General Motors SUVs that it shares its basic underpinnings with are allegedly in line to receive a big increase in power, too. Released for the 2021 model year, the fifth-generation Escalade eschewed downsizing and launched with a 6.2-liter V8 as its standard engine. It develops 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque when it's naturally aspirated, and Motor Trend learned from an anonymous source that the optional supercharger will increase the first figure to anywhere between 600 and 625. The eight's torque output will undoubtedly go up, too. The supercharged Escalade won't outgun the sold-out Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, which gets 710 horses, but it will pack a serious punch. It doesn't sound like the V8 will require significant modifications to handle the extra power because the supercharger kit will likely be installed by dealers, not on the assembly line. This strongly suggests that it's more of a bolt-on job than one that requires taking the engine out and apart to install stronger connecting rods and forged pistons, for example. ECU tweaks will be part of the package, too, and the fuel delivery system may require some upgrades. Interestingly, Motor Trend learned from Texas-based Hennessey that the SUV's ECU is locked to tuners, which adds credibility to the report. Motorists who want more power will need to go through official sales channels, then. Bigger brakes and a firmer suspension won't be part of the package — at least not yet. The same source outlined a true high-performance evolution of the body-on-frame behemoth that will be quicker and tighter to drive. Oddly, it's not being developed by the engineers in charge of Cadillac's V-branded models, according to the report. If the report is accurate, we'll learn more about the supercharged Cadillac Escalade in the coming months, and it might go on sale in time for the 2022 model year. Expect the supercharger to come with a four-digit price tag. Chevrolet's Tahoe/Suburban and GMC's Yukon/Yukon XL will reportedly be available with a supercharger, too.