Cadillac Northstar LMP

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Cadillac Northstar LMP

The Cadillac Northstar LMP was a series of Le Mans prototypes developed by the Cadillac division of General Motors for use in the American Le Mans Series and as an attempt to return the Cadillac brand to the 24 Hours of Le Mans was built. Cadillac first took part in the Le Mans race in 1950. The Northstar LMP were named after the new GM Northstar V8 engine that powered them. This Cadillac project ran from 2000 to 2002. Then GM decided to abandon it and instead focus on using the Chevrolet Corvette .

development

2000

GM decided during the planning for the Cadillac program that, unlike the Corvette program, no completely new vehicles should be built in the first years of competition. Instead, GM started with an already established chassis and used its own engine, which they wanted to fine-tune until it could not only survive at Le Mans, but also beat the dominant Audi R8s . GM turned to Riley & Scott , designers of the successful Mark III chassis , for this purpose . GM used the basic chassis of the Mark III, but developed an independent body. The new construction featured elements of Cadillac's new Art & Science design, such as: B. a functional radiator grille in a box design on the front of the vehicle and large side air scoops for the turbocharger.

A heavily developed 650 bhp (478 kW) version of the Northstar engine was initially used by the GM racing department for the Indy Racing League from 1995; from 2000 he was employed in the Northstar LMP program. The two engines were 4.0 liter, but the version for Northstar LMP had two turbochargers. The engine for the Northstar LMP was based on a smaller 4.0 liter variant of the Northstar, which was used in Cadillac production vehicles, the code number L47 and was installed in the Oldsmobile Aurora . It was adapted to the requirements of racing in the Indy Racing League as early as 1995, but has now been carefully revised so that not only the maximum performance increased, but also stability. McLaren supported GM in the development of the new racing machine and IHI supplied the two turbochargers, which should improve the power output.

A total of 6 cars were built in 2000, two of which went to Team Cadillac in the USA, three to DAMS in France and one remained in the factory as a test vehicle.

2001

The Northstar LMP was further developed for 2001 in order to be able to hold its own against the Audi R8. The new cars were still based on the Riley & Scott chassis, but got a completely new body designed by Nigel Stoud. A more angular approach was used, especially on the side parts, which were no longer simply horizontally flat, but were drawn forward and down to the wheel arches of the front wheels. The cooling air inlets were moved from the sides of the vehicle to the wheel arches so that the new air outlets from the wheel arches could be attached to the new side panels. The radiator grille was also revised and lost its function.

Aside from the bodywork, little was changed on the new cars, which were named Northstar LMP01 . Two of the vehicles from 2000 were fitted with new 201 bodies and one car was built from scratch.

2002

After Cadillac spent two years developing the Northstar V8 engine, they used 2002 to introduce their new, purpose-built chassis. The Northstar LMP02 was no longer based on the Riley & Scott design, but was a completely different vehicle designed by Nigel Stoud. Although it took over some aerodynamic details from the Northstar LMP01, it was an even more angular construction. The most striking detail was the raised airbox on the front of the vehicle, which enabled air to enter the middle of the vehicle and no longer needed a functionless radiator grille. The air outlets on the side have also been kept to a minimum, making the entire construction look much smoother.

The Northstar V8 was slightly modified in the engine compartment; new Garrett chargers replaced the old IHI turbochargers. The X-Trac transmission had a pneumatically operated circuit.

A total of three chassis were created for the Northstar LMP02.

Racing history

2000

For Cadillac's debut in 2000, GM decided to have two teams compete in different competitions in order to better prepare for Le Mans. Riley & Scott had their works team run under the name '' Team Cadillac '' in the American Le Mans Series, while Team DAMS from France had a private driver team compete in European sports car races.

The Daytona 24-hour race was the first race of the year in which Team Cadillac used its two cars. Like their colleagues from Team Corvette, the Northstar LMP initially held up well and finished second and third in qualifying. The cars ran quite well in the race, but fell almost 100 laps behind the leading GTs due to technical problems. Although one car lost its transmission in the last second, both cars were able to finish the race and finished 13th and 14th. This race was followed by the 12-hour race in Sebring , in which both the Cadillac and DAMS teams competed. Cadillac with two cars and DAMS with one. Both teams struggled. In the DAMS car, the clutch failed right from the start and a Cadillac team was involved in an accident. The third Northstar LMP, however, finished the race in a promising 6th place, albeit 29 laps behind the winner Audi R8.

Back in Europe, DAMS fielded two cars in one race for the first time, in the first race of the Le Mans Series. The team took home seventh and eighth places, just three laps behind the winner Ferrari 333SP . In the following race, one DAMS car took fourth place, the other could not finish the race. At that time the American Le Mans Series had its first races in Europe. DAMS started with both cars instead of the Cadillac team and came in fifth at Silverstone . DAMS reappeared at the World Sports Car Championship before going to Le Mans , but none of the cars were able to finish the race.

Team Cadillac, on the other hand, felt that factory testing would be better for the Northstar LMP and did not return to the American Le Mans Series until they flew to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The cars lacked practical use to compete with the big teams in their class. Even if one of the DAMS cars reached ninth place in the qualification, his colleague was only able to set the 20th fastest lap time. No team result could be achieved in the race and only three Northstar LMPs were able to finish the race, in disappointing positions 19, 21 and 22.

After the race in Le Mans, DAMS took part in the second race of the American Le Mans Series in Europe and achieved fifth place at the Nürburgring . Back in America, Team Cadillac returned to racing and sent a single car to the Portland International Raceway , where it took eighth place. DAMS also came back to the USA for the Petit Le Mans race ; the use of four Cadillac cars brought better results. All cars were able to finish the race and finished in 6th, 7th, 8th and 13th. Team Cadillac finished seventh at Laguna Seca before withdrawing its cars for the season. They did not take part in the race in Las Vegas. DAMS competed for the last time this year at the Adelaide Street Circuit in Australia , but only finished 19th and 20th.

At the end of the season, DAMS achieved seventh place in the American Le Mans Series because of the factory tests by Team Cadillac, while Team Cadillac was only eighth. In addition, DAMS achieved eighth place in the sports car world championship.

2001

GM decided to change strategy in the new season. Cadillac should only prepare for the 24-hour race of Le Mans with factory tests and DAMS should compete with two cars in the other races. Team Cadillac was supposed to support them in their endeavors, but only take part in the American Le Mans Series after the race in Le Mans, as factory tests with the Northstar LMP01 were no longer necessary because GM already knew the brand new Northstar LMP02 was being developed.

In Le Mans , the DAMS cars showed the speed potential of the Northstar V8 by finishing eighth in qualifying, ahead of the new Bentley EXP Speed ​​8 , two from the Chrysler LMP and the Panoz team. During the race, a Northstar LMP01 had to be taken out of the race after an accident in the first few hours, but the other was able to improve to 15th place compared to the results of the previous year.

After his return to the USA, Team Cadillac started the American Le Mans Series with the race at Sears Point . Both cars had problems and only achieved positions 12 and 24. The race in Portland was skipped and entered again at Mosport International Raceway . There the team achieved the best rating ever achieved for these racing cars, a third and a fourth place. After finishing seventh and eighth in Mid-Ohio, the cars finished fourth and fifth at Laguna Seca and fourth and fifth at Petit Le Mans in the last race of the season. Although Cadillac had only participated in the competitions for half the season, the team reached fourth place in the team standings that year.

2002

With the completely new Northstar LMP02, Team Cadillac prepared again for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The DAMS team no longer took part in the project, so the US team carried the entire burden of developing the new car. Again, the decision was made to only carry out factory tests before Le Mans, although Cadillac was to compete in the Sebring 12-hour race this year.

The season at Sebring didn't start well for the Northstar LMP02. Shortly before the end of the race, one car retired due to an electronic fault, while the remaining car took a disappointing 31st place. At Le Mans , the Cadillac once again showed their potential by setting the eighth and tenth fastest times in qualifying, beating both an Audi and a Bentley. In the race itself, the Northstar LMP02 confirmed the hopes placed in them when they were in the top ten for most of the time. Finally, Cadillac was able to come in 9th and 12th, the best result since they started out at Le Mans.

Back in the United States, a Cadillac finished fourth in Washington DC, just one lap behind the winner. Trois-Rivières was left out and achieved third and sixth places at Mosport, followed by third place at Laguna Seca. The best result ever achieved for the Northstar was in the streets of Miami, where an LMP02 with drivers JJ Lehto and Max Angelelli took second place, just 14 seconds behind the leading Audi. In the last race of the year, Petit Le Mans, there was a third and a fourth place for Cadillac. Once again the team managed to achieve an impressive fifth place in the team standings of the American Le Mans Series with an effort of only half the season.

GM announced in late 2002 that the Cadillac project would no longer be continued in 2003. It was thought that the program had done what it was supposed to do for GM, so it was abandoned in favor of the more successful Chevrolet Corvette program. GM did not offer the Northstar LMP to private drivers for sale, but kept all the cars itself.

In 2009 GM decided to sell some prototypes from their museum. The Cadillac LMP No. 8 (chassis No. 02-002) was sold to a private driver for the first time.

Technical specifications

model Cadillac Northstar LMP
Number of cylinders V8
Displacement (cm³) 4000
Max. Power (kW / PS) 440/600 at 7000
Max. Torque (Nm) 746 at 5500
Top speed (km / h) 300 (estimate)
Transmission (standard) sequential 6-speed gearbox from Xtra
Acceleration (0-100 km / h) 3–5 s (estimate)
Combined consumption (l / 100 km) -
Tank capacity (liter) 90

History of the chassis

A total of seven Northstar LMP (Riley & Scott) and Northstar LMP01 were built, as well as three more Northstar LMP02. Team Cadillac and Team DAMS were the only ones allowed to use these cars in races.

No. LMP-00-001

  • Development prototype, never used in a race

No. LMP-00-002

ALMS Sebring: failure
SRWC Barcelona: 7th place
SRWC Monza: 4th place
ALMS Silverstone: failure
SRWC Spa: failure
Le Mans: retirement
  • Destroyed in a fire at Le Mans, replaced by no. LMP-00-006

No. LMP-00-003

GARRC Daytona: 14th place
ALMS Sebring: 6th place
Le Mans: 21st place
ALMS Petit Le Mans: 9th place

No. LMP-00-004

GARRC Daytona: 13th place
ALMS Sebring: failure
Le Mans: 22nd place
ALMS Portland: 8th place
ALMS Petit Le Mans: 7th place
ALMS Laguna Seca: 7th place
Le Mans: 15th place (entered by DAMS )
ALMS Sears Point: Failure
ALMS Mosport: 4th place
ALMS Mid-Ohio: 8th place
ALMS Laguna Seca: 4th place
ALMS Petit Le Mans: 4th place

No. LMP-00-005

SRWC Barcelona: 5th place
SRWC Monza: failure
ALMS Silverstone: 5th place
SRWC Spa: failure
Le Mans: 19th place
ALMS Nürburgring: 16th place
ALMS Petit Le Mans: 6th place
ALMS Adelaide: failure

No. LMP-00-006

ALMS Nürburgring: 5th place
ALMS Petit Le Mans: 13th place
ALMS Adelaide: failure
ALMS Sears Point: 12th place
ALMS Mosport: 3rd place
ALMS Mid-Ohio: 8th place
ALMS Laguna Seca: 5th place
ALMS Petit Le Mans: 5th place

No. LMP-00-007

Le Mans: retirement

No. LMP-02-001

ALMS Sebring: failure

No. LMP-02-002

ALMS Sebring: 31st place
Le Mans: 9th place
ALMS Washington: 4th place
ALMS Mosport: 3rd place
ALMS Laguna Seca: 3rd place
ALMS Miami: 2nd place
ALMS Petit Le Mans: 3rd place

No. LMP-02-003

Le Mans: 12th place
ALMS Washington: failure
ALMS Mosport: 6th place
ALMS Laguna Seca: failure
ALMS Miami: 7th place
ALMS Petit Le Mans: 4th place


ALMS = American Le Mans Series
GARRC = Grand Am Series
SRWC = FIA World Sports Car Championship

Web links

Commons : Cadillac Northstar LMP  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wetzman, Larry: The Aurora by Oldsmobile (2001), Better in every Respect , Autochannel  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.theautochannel.com