Cadillac Northstar LMP

The Cadillac Northstar LMP are a series of Le Mans Prototypes built by Cadillac for use in the American Le Mans Series as well as an attempt to return Cadillac to the 24 Hours of Le Mans since they first entered in. The Northstar LMPs were named after the Northstar V8 engines which powered them. The Cadillac project ran from 2000 until 2002 when General Motors decided to cancel the project to concentrate solely on their Chevrolet Corvette program. Cadillac returned to prototype racing in 2017 with the Cadillac DPi-V.R in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Development

2000

In planning the new Cadillac LMP project, GM turned to Riley & Scott, builders of the successful Mk III chassis. Riley & Scott developed a from-scratch LMP based around a bespoke carbon fiber monocoque. The new design featured elements of Cadillac's new Art & Science design theme such as the functional egg-crate grill on the nose, as well as the addition of large side scoops to feed the turbochargers.

A highly modified 650 hp version of this engine was used by General Motors racing division initially for Indy Racing League competition starting in 1995, then was later used in the Cadillac Northstar LMP program in 2000. Both engines retained the 4.0 L capacity, but the Northstar LMP version was twin-turbocharged.[1] The engine for the Northstar LMP was based on a smaller 4.0 Liter variant of the Northstar used in Cadillacs, known as the L47, used in GM's Oldsmobile Aurora sedan. It had already been adapted for racing in 1995 for use in the Indy Racing League, but was thoroughly modified in order to not only increase power, but increase longevity. McLaren Engines assisted in the development of the new prototype engine, while Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries (IHI) produced twin turbochargers to increase output.

A total of seven monocoques were built, with two going to Team Cadillac in the United States, three to

Racing history

2000

For Cadillac's debut in 2000, GM decided to employ the use of two teams in two different championships in an attempt to maximize their preparation for Le Mans. Riley & Scott would run the factory team in the American Le Mans Series under the name Team Cadillac, while Team DAMS of France would run a customer team in the European Sports Racing World Cup.

For the 24 Hours of Daytona, the first race of the year, Team Cadillac would debut their two cars. Alongside their Chevrolet Corvette teammates, the Northstar LMPs performed well early on, taking second and third in qualifying. During the race the cars ran on pace, although after problems they found themselves nearly 100 laps behind the leading grand tourer cars. Although one car suffered a gearbox failure in the closing moments of the race, both cars were classified as finishers, taking 13th and 14th places. This was followed by the 12 Hours of Sebring, which saw both Team Cadillac and Team DAMS would be entered, with Cadillac running two cars and DAMS one. The teams suffered some difficulties, with the DAMS entry breaking a clutch and one of the Team Cadillac entries being involved in an accident. However, the third Northstar LMP was able to finish the race and take an encouraging sixth place, although it was 29 laps behind the winning Audi R8. Returning to Europe, DAMS debuted their first two car effort at the initial race of the Sports Racing World Cup. There, the team managed to take home seventh and eighth places, a mere three laps behind the winning Ferrari 333 SP

Chassis history

A total of seven Riley & Scott-built Northstar LMP and Northstar LMP01s would be built, while a further three Northstar LMP02s would be built. Team Cadillac and DAMS would be the only teams to run the cars.

#LMP-00-001 #LMP-00-002 #LMP-00-003 #LMP-00-004 #LMP-00-005 #LMP-00-006 #LMP-00-007 #LMP-02-001 #LMP-02-002 #LMP-02-003

crash test car and show car, never raced

2000 (DAMS)
ALMS Sebring: DNF
SRWC Barcelona: 7th
SRWC Monza: 4th
ALMS Silverstone: DNF
SRWC Spa: DNF
Le Mans: DNF
Damaged in Le Mans fire, replaced by #LMP-00-006

External links

Mulsannes Corner - Northstar LMP
Mulsannes Corner - Northstar LMP01
Mulsannes Corner - Northstar LMP02

References

Weitzman, Larry (2001).The Aurora by Oldsmobile (2001), Better in every respect. Autochannel. Retrieved on June 28, 2009.^

2002

With the all new Northstar LMP02, Team Cadillac prepared once again for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Team DAMS was no longer involved in the project, leaving the American team to do all development of the new car. Once again the decision was made to concentrate on private testing prior to Le Mans, although this year Cadillac would run the 12 Hours of Sebring.

The year did not start well for the Northstar LMP02 at Sebring. One car suffered a failed electronics system towards the end of the race, while the sole remaining car came home a disappointing 31st. Moving to Le Mans, the Cadillac showed its speed in qualifying once again by taking the eighth and tenth fastest qualifying times, beating out both an Audi and a Bentley. However the race itself saw the Northstar LMP02 show its potential, with both cars running in the top ten for most of the race. Cadillac managed to take home ninth and twelfth places in the end, their best Le Mans result since the start of the program.

Returning to the United States, Cadillac saw competition again in Washington D.C., where the team managed to take a fourth-place finish, only a single lap behind the winners. Skipping Trois-Rivieres, Mosport saw the Northstar LMP02s finish third and sixth, followed by another third at Laguna Seca. Cadillac's best race ever would finally come on the streets of Miami, where the LMP02 of JJ Lehto and Max Angelelli would take second place, a mere fourteen seconds behind the winning Audi. The final race of the year, Petit Le Mans, would see Cadillac coming home in third and fourth. Once again, with only half a season, Cadillac would manage an impressive fifth in the championship.

At the end of 2002, General Motors announced that the Cadillac project would not continue into 2003. Feeling that the Cadillac program had achieved what General Motors believed it was meant to, the project was canceled and GM would move to concentrating solely on their more successful Chevrolet Corvette program. General Motors would not offer any of the Northstar LMPs for sale to privateer customers, instead retaining the cars for themselves.

In 2009 GM decided to sell some of their specialty cars that were featured in the GM Museum. The Cadillac LMP #8 (Chassis #02-002) was for the first time sold to a privateer.

Development

2000

Racing history

2000

Chassis history

See also

External links

References

2001

2002

2001

2002