Cadillac May Build the V-One, If Buyers Are ThereCadillacOn Friday, Cadillac unveiled a potential customer car that bore more than a passing similarity to its V-Series.R Le Mans racer. Called the V-One, the track-only car was billed only as a concept. But if enough people of means are interested, that could potentially change—and fast."It is a concept in name," Cadillac LMDh propulsion manager Sean O'Shea told Road & Track when asked about the V-One. "We are always looking to see where interest is, and what we want to do in the future."As its appearance suggests, the V-One is quite similar to the V-Series.R race car. O'Shea describes it as "as close as we can get" to the racer, doubling down on that statement by clarifying, "as close to the race car as we can possibly make it without infringing on the rules." That means it would bring the same naturally-aspirated 5.5-liter V-8 powertrain, complete with the furious bump-start that has made the Cadillac race car famous in sports car circles, directly to customers.CadillacThe Dallara chassis is a carryover from the race car, too. Dallara, O'Shea says, tells GM that it has capacity to support whatever unstated number of V-Ones Cadillac might plan on building. And while supplying parts for both a race car and a track car could create some challenges, those eventualities are are already being considered.AdvertisementAdvertisement"The big thing with this is that we don't want to affect our race program," O'Shea adds. "This is supposed to elevate our brand and bring awareness to everything we're doing, then allow somebody to get in the car and do the same thing as our professional race drivers. Especially with the body side, and what we would do for different suppliers on the engine side—if it became a reality, we want to be sure that everything's changed enough that we can use our network, but not take away from the race car side."CadillacWhile the V-One shares many similarities with the company's IMSA and World Endurance Championship racer, there's one change that's as plain as the nose on your face: the Cadillac decal up front structure is gone, replaced by an actual light-up emblem. That was a particular point of emphasis for O'Shea. "When I was 13 or 14," he said, "I saw my first Formula 1 car, and it was a Ferrari. I was so impressed that everything was like this, flat and finished, except it had a badge inserted in the car. When we did this program, I was adamant: 'Please put a real badge on it. Let's make a real badge.' It's what our future badge will be, the elongated badge; it's a real piece."While a track car based on a Le Mans hypercar is not a new idea, it is unprecedented ground for a larger automaker. Two brands, Ferrari and Aston Martin, currently offer track cars based on their race cars; a third, McLaren, has announced its own plans to do the same. All three are low-volume manufacturers aimed at a small group of customers, though, while Cadillac is a relatively high-volume luxury brand that exists as part of the larger and even higher-volume General Motors portfolio.That, along with the snarling V-8 in the back, would make the V-One a relatively unique offering. And if Cadillac finds enough interested customers, these prototypes could hit a race track near you in private hands soon enough.You Might Also LikeIf You Can Only Own One Car, Make It One of TheseThese Are the Most Popular Cars by State
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