The Robb Collections: Cadillac Racing A Brief History and Their V-Series.R LMP HYPER Car GTP WEC and IMSA Racing Cars in Miniature

December 27, 2025

#530

Gentle reader,

Longtime readers (thank you!) know that I have been a car guy at least 68 of my 69 years on this Earth. And that includes being a fan of car racing. Specifically, of endurance sports and prototype car racing, at such events as the: 24 Hours of Daytona, Sebring 12 Hours and France's 100-years-old, 24 Hours of Le Mans and more held in north America's IMSA series and at the rest-of-the-world's WEC series. Cadillac Racing: IMSA, WEC, F1 News & More | Cadillac

Image courtesy of carscoops.com

The photo above is of all three factory Cadillac V-Series.R cars as of 2023 as prepared for the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona race in Florida, USA.
A little older image taken with the photographer having set the lead car's rear facing camera level while on the 31 degree banking of Daytona International Speedway. The Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona is the first race of every year in the world or IMSA and WEC endurance racing. The trifecta back in the day being, in calendar order, Daytona, Sebring and Le Mans in January, March and June respectively.

"The world of NASCAR centers around this 2.5-mile tri-oval. NASCAR races have been held here since 1959 and it is the host of the renowned Daytona 500. What makes this track appealing are the 31-degree banking on the corners and the 18-degree banks on the tri-oval. Put this steepness together with a track width of 40 feet and an extremely difficult challenge emerges."

Cadillac fields a three-car team, although the #31 red car, is the most successful of the three cars here in the United States (and in WEC in which just the blue was raced in addition to Le Mans) which is sponsored by Whelen Engineering, a company which makes products for the Data Center industry.
Additionally, Hertz Team Jota, today races these two cars purchased from Cadillac in the World Endurance Challenge aka: WEC. In 2023, HTJ raced a car in the LMP2 class and did very well. The next year, 2024, HTJ showed up to race with two brand new Porsche 963 LMPH top-of-the line racers. To the surprise and delight of Cadillac fans, for 2025, they raced the two Cadillacs shown above. At the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans these two cars qualified 1st and 2nd to start the epic race. Proving that naturally aspirated (no turbocharging or supercharging) American V8 engines in top-level racing have the speed and power to show the rest of the field their taillights. That was no fluke because they showed epic speed the entire season. The US Cadillacs could not match HTJ's speed or high finishing order with their cars at Le Mans or other WEC races.

Cadillac began racing internationally in 1950 when American Briggs Cunningham prepared two Cadillac sedans to represent the United States car makers at France's legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans race. One with the stock body and interior and the other with his idea of streamlining. The #3 sedan finished 10th and #2 "Le Monstre" finished 11th. 60 cars entered the race that year, but only 29 finished 24 hours later. For more on this and more photos of these two cars go here: A peek inside the LeMans Cadillacs - Old Cars Weekly

Years later, Briggs Cunningham with some of his race cars.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Cadillac's first (and last) foray into international endurance racing, they produced this LMP race car running a race-prepped Cadillac Northstar V8 engine. The cars were not competitive, however.

I was able to attend the 2002 Inaugural Cadillac Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. The following for images are from that race. Which was the one and only race held there. The site was built on one of the parking lots of Robert F. Kennedy Stadium.

WMATA (metro) Subway Car Tracks emerge from the ground inside the circuit.

Image inside the Cadillac pits prior to the race shows just how small and low the LMP class of race cars are.

Aerial image of the RFK stadium complex (former home of the Washington Redskins football team) from the race program. It was a wonderful facility. The track was forty feet wide which allowed for far more passing the most circuits. Sadly, the neighbors complained of the noise and it was the last race held there. The stadium has since been demolished. There is no sign of the race circuit other than the race circuit's asphalt surface.

I'm glad that I brought the program and this polo shirt.

I did not know it then, but one of my readers, who became friends with Nancy and I, Bruce W., was there too! He was working as a Corner Marshal at the race. Small world.

Two old buys, Bruce and I, attempting to make a selfie.

Street car-based Cadillacs were also raced, such as this 2011 Cadillac CTS-V coupe, but nothing top-level until the current Cadillac V-Series.R cars of which I now have three amazing miniatures in 1:64th scale.

There are a number of these beauties built by MINI GT under license from General Motors and IMSA. They sell for around twenty dollars US on eBay which is where I bought these.
At a glance, they look just like the real cars. The detail is incredible and I am delighted to have these added to my collection.
The gold #01 is from the 2024 IMSA season Sebring 12 Hours race. Previously, the color was yellow with the same #01. The blue #2 is from the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans race in which the car finished 3rd overall. The #311 (#31 in IMSA) is from the same race. There already was a WEC car registered to race at Le Mans which uses #31.
I just cannot get over how amazing these cars look in these images. They are, of course, made in China.
I don't remember which Le Mans race it was, but on the very first lap, the red #311 Cadillac, after leaving the first chicane on The Mulsanne Straight, ["(French: Ligne droite des Hunaudières, "Straight Line of Les Hunaudières") is the name used in English for a formerly 6 km (3.7 mi) long straight of the Circuit de la Sarthe around which the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race takes place."] when it suddenly snapped to the left and crashed into the safety barrier on that side of the circuit, ending that car's race when it had just begun.

The "before" image, below.

IMSA GTP livery, below.

Amazing amount of detail on these little gems.

They even included the little tow ring on the rear of the cars.

Hot Wheels made an all-carbon-fiber version of Cadillac's V-Series.R LMPH GTP race car. The real car is seen above.

Prior to fielding the car, it practiced and was developed with no livery. "Livery" refers to the colorful plastic wraps put on race cars over their bare bodies.
There is no comparing it to the MINI GT models. Both seen in profile below.
Thank you SO much for taking the time to read this article. I am truly humbled that anyone does so, let alone that over 650,000 of you do so blows my mind! Plus, two real friends, Bruce and Bob B. are part of our lives now, is truly a blessing.