Le Mans, France — Cadillac is coming into Europe with fire and ice.
General Motors Co.’s iconic luxury brand scored a front-row start at France’s famed 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race over the weekend, propelled by its earth-shaking V-8 engine whose impact could be felt 130 miles away in Paris, where Cadillac’s first showroom has opened showcasing stealthy, electric SUVs.
The dual strategy opens a new, international chapter for Cadillac as an electric brand amplified by good ol’ American performance.
“It’s our opportunity to return (to Le Mans) for the first time in 20 years,” John Roth, vice president for Global Cadillac, said track-side ahead of the 24-hour epic. ”We had a great podium performance last year (placing third) and super opportunity to showcase our engineering excellence to an ever-growing global fan base.”
But whereas Cadillac’s last effort in 2000-02 fizzled on the track and in the showroom, the 2024 effort was much more focused, with significant company backing.
On the racing front, Cadillac’s V-Series.R entries in the top Hypercar class have already established themselves as one of the best race cars in the world with four championships in North America’s IMSA series in the past seven years. Cadillac Hypercars followed a third-place, podium finish in their 2023 Le Mans debut with an impressive, three-car entry in 2024 — the fastest of the squadron qualifying on the front row and leading 61 laps before dropping to 7th at race end.
On the product front, Cadillac is taking a page from Tesla Inc. The luxury brand is coming into Europe as a fresh, EV-only brand, selling cars directly to consumers through company-owned retails stores in urban retail spaces — its operations unburdened by government emissions regulations like those facing European legacy automakers.
“We are entering Europe at an ideal time,” said Cadillac President of Europe Jaclyn McQuaid. “First, we have exceptional EV portfolio starting with the Lyriq and Optiq and more product coming. Second, the population in Europe is interested in EVs at a higher rate than interest in other parts of world. And third, we have governments that are supportive. It’s the perfect storm.”
Europeans have already embraced Cadillac Hypercars storming around France’s most storied racetrack. The #2 Cadillac piloted by Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and IndyCar superstar Alex Palou entertained fans by swapping the lead throughout the race with Porsche Penske, Ferrari, and Toyota Hypercars — its distinctive, normally-aspirated V-8 roaring above the turbocharged machines.
The V8-powered V-Series and battery-powered Lyriq and Optiq models may seem an odd couple, but Roth sees them as complementary on a continent that prizes speed and luxury.
The V-Series.R actually competes in Le Mans’ wicked-quick hybrid class — employing battery power to exit the pits before lighting off the V-8 for 200-mph laps on course.
“We translate our performance excellence on track to what we do around aerodynamics, tires and efficiency in our electric production cars,” said Roth. “Many of our engineers who are working on the Cadillac on track translate that back to engineers in Michigan — and back to EVs. Endurance racing allows us . . . to learn quickly as engineers — and to respond to evolving knowledge that we put into our vehicles on the street.”
That knowledge extends to the European sales side where Cadillac is, for the first time in its history, selling directly to customers.
“We started last year in Switzerland and Sweden with a direct-to-consumer model,” said McQuaid. “Then we launched stores earlier this year in Germany and in France. Starting with Lyriq, which is on sale now, and we just introduced Optiq at our flagship Paris store.”
The Cadillac are distinct on track with their rib-rattling V-8s, and the #2 V-Series.R ran in the Top 5 for much of Le Mans.
“My first stint at Le Mans was amazing,” said Palou, the reigning IndyCar champion who was brought onboard the Caddy team for the French race. “We were losing sunlight, it was raining, we went on wets, and the track started drying. I had a bit of everything and . . . some issues at the beginning of the race with balance, but we’re back in the game.”
After sporadic sales through dealers in Europe for years, Cadillac is back in the game in Europe with its own stores. The glamorous Cadillac City Paris store is across from the famed Palais Garnier opera house in the heart of the French capital — the flagship store intended to attract premium buyers looking for something different with Caddy’s edgy design.
“Racing elevates the brand experience, but even in Europe we are learning that customers are different,” said McQuaid, who says that European customers have been attracted to the brand’s bold styling. “Germans focus on performance, and the French like to know the history. At our Paris store, you can learn about the 120 years of Cadillac on our heritage wall, then configure and purchase a Lyriq.”
Cadillac’s dual strategy was on display at Le Mans, where Cadillac deployed its electric Lyriq and Optiq in the track’s central “Manufacturers’ Village” while the V-Series.R circled the 8.5-mile circuit. The Optiq anchored the display space, while the Lyriq was out front in the middle of the pedestrian midway.
“We often say that Cadillac is at its best while innovating, and that innovation starts right here on the race track,” said Roth. “If you can perform on the track, then you can perform on the street.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.