Tag Archives: auto racing

Cadillac Back at Le Mans

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Will the participation move the metal?.

By Gary S. Vasilash

The old line has it: “Win on Sunday, sell on Monday.”

Which basically goes to a point of why OEMs participate, particularly, in NASCAR.

This is a bit of a problem, however, for Chevrolet, as it races the Camaro in NASCAR and that vehicle has been out of production for a while, so fans of William Byron, Chase Elliott, etc. would be out of luck at their local Chevy dealers.

But another brand has hopes that seem somewhat quizzical because the relationship between what is available for sale and what is on the track is largely a logo.

“We’re thrilled to have Cadillac Racing return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with four cars competing for the overall win in the Hypercar class,” said John Roth, vice president, global Cadillac.

Hypercars are to showroom Cadillacs what Wagyu beef is to dusty gas station beef jerky.

Roth continued: “After scoring our first podium finish at this iconic endurance race in 2023 and securing a top 10 finish last year, we look to build on that success and showcase the Cadillac V-Series.R’s technology, performance, and innovation with our 2025 entries.”

In 2023 Cadillac finished third and fourth.

In 2024 it qualified second and third in the Hypercar category and its best finish that year was seventh.

The cars have a special Cadillac 5.5-liter V8 developed by GM’s Performance and Racing Propulsion team that operated in Pontiac, Michigan.

The cars, designed and developed by Cadillac Design and Cadillac Racing, are constructed by Dallara.

Cadillac first went to Le Mans in 1950. Then skipped it until 2000. It raced in 2001 and 2002, too, before giving it a pass for a few years.

The 24-hour race will be contested June 14 and 15. The 15th is a Sunday.

What is the likelihood Cadillac dealerships will see a bump in buyers on the 16th?

This is actually one of the two Cadillacs the company campaigned at Le Mans in 1950. It was nicknamed “Le Monstre.” (Image: Cadillac

Good News on the Fuel Cell Front

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By Gary S. Vasilash

Although hydrogen fuel cell enthusiasts are probably saddened by Shell’s announcement that it is shutting off the valves at its hydrogen refueling stations in California, there was some good news this week—albeit not exactly for those who are driving Toyota Mirais or Honda Claritys in SoCal.

Extreme E, the off-road FIA-sanctioned racing series in which electric vehicles are run, is transitioning to Extreme H, which will swap out battery power for fuel cells next year.

So Extreme E becomes Extreme H.

Racing with hydrogen. (Image: Extreme E. Soon to be Extreme H)

But the good news is that the series and Symbio have announced that the latter will become the “Official Hydrogen Fuel Cell” provider to Extreme H.

Symbio?

It is a Europe-based company established by Michelin, Stellantis and Forvia (each company owns a third) that is dedicated to fuel cell systems.

In December 2023 Symbio opened SymphonHy, a gigafactory in France that currently has the production capacity to produce 16,000 fuel cells. It expects to expand that number to 50,000 by 2026.

Notably, Symbio partner company Stellantis has announced that it is developing hydrogen tech for Ram brand pickups. It already offers hydrogen versions of Peugeot, Citroen and Opel commercial vehicles in Europe.

Using hydrogen for Ram could be a proverbial game-changer.

And speaking of games (OK, a sport): If nothing else, the affiliation with the Extreme H racing series will provide attention to the tech.

Extreme E is having a race in Phoenix this year, so assuming that goes well, the U.S. will be part of the series.

Perhaps Extreme H will make more people in the U.S. interested in the possibility of fuel cells in place of battery electrics.

And maybe those Shell hydrogen stations will be reopened or replaced.