Cadillac V-Series.R Le Mans Hypercar Can’t Keep Up With A Ferrari 296

The V-Series.R uses its electric motor until 60 km/h before the V8 fires into life

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At last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Cadillac V-Series.R came third in the hypercar class and proved itself as one of the quickest endurance racers on the planet. However, in a race down the quarter-mile, the racecar can’t even keep up with a road-legal Ferrari.

To find out just how quick the V-Series.R is in a straight line, Hagerty arranged to have the team at Cadillac deliver one to Willow Springs Raceway in California. Admittedly, an endurance race car like the V-Series.R isn’t about launching hard off the line, but who wouldn’t love the chance to put a Le Mans racer through its paces down the quarter-mile?

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Before the Caddy was tested, Hagerty aimed to see what was quickest between the Ferrari 296 GTB, Porsche 911 Turbo S, and McLaren 720S, as only one could race the Cadillac. This race is quite eye-opening.

While the Porsche has significantly less power than the McLaren and Ferrari, its all-wheel-drive system and potent launch control allow it to pull off the line quicker than the other two. However, as the speed started to build, the Ferrari shot past the 911 like a speeding bullet and claimed an easy victory. The 720S finished neck-and-neck with the Porsche.

With this race out of the way, it was a matter of seeing how the Ferrari would fare against the Cadillac. While the 296 GTB is street-legal, it has a big advantage over the Cadillac. You see, it can deploy all of the power from its twin-turbocharged V6 and electric motors off the line. The V-Series.R is different as it runs solely on electric power off the line up until 37 mph (60 km/h), when it drops its clutch and drag starts the 5.5-liter naturally-aspirated V8. By the time this happened, the Ferrari had sprinted ahead.

In the sprint to 60 mph, the 296 needed just 2.6 seconds, while the Cadillac took 3.6 seconds. However, the Cadillac crossed the finish line traveling much faster than the Ferrari, and if the race had been long enough, it would have passed it.