Year and years ago (almost before my time), the only racing Cadillac would do, was if one of their, powerful for their time, motors was installed in an old hot rod. Theirs was the motor of choice for all the up and coming cool dudes.
Well also, there was a brief venture over to France in 1950. Briggs Cunningham had the idea to race a couple of Caddy's in the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race. One was so hideous, that the French nick named it Le Monstre. Wonder why? Take a look and judge for yourself........
Yep, easy to see where that name came from. The other car was a standard Coupe de Ville with probably a few choice mods, so that it wouldn't completely wander all over the course. Seen here, the two Caddies race thru the French countryside on that famous day in June.......
But that was then and now is now. Cadillac, over the past dozen plus years, has sought to gain for itself a reputation that, could only be achieved, by winning on the racetrack. After all Audi, BMW and Mercedes all have proven themselves track capable in a variety of series. Now it was time for Cadillac to follow suit.
The first serious effort was this CTS-V sedan from the mid 2000's.......
Well known Canadian Corvette racer, Ron Fellows. helped sort out Cadillac's first effort. Eventually, their racing duties fell on the shoulders of the hot looking CTS-V coupe, seen spouting fire in this pic.......
Both achieved very good results, winning races and also series championships. More often than not, Cadillac ended up leading the pack of Porsches, Vipers and the occasional Ferrari, when they entered a race.....
My, how things have changed. No longer the track side joke, Cadillac is a real contender and winner. So, when they announce their new standard bearer, the competitors take notice. After all this ain't the '60's, bucko.
Until next time........
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