Cadillac's V-Series.R arrived in the GTP era as a robust, mechanically dependable platform, topping the IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2023.
Despite clear progress, it has yet to turn that success into a global title. Its first season with Jota in the World Endurance Championship, however, suggests that the final pieces are starting to fall into place.
And 2026 marks the point where the engineering group has committed to a wider reset. After three seasons and a minor evo update last winter, the V-Series.R now undergoes a much deeper rework.
Given Porsche Penske's consistency in IMSA and Ferrari's dominance in the WEC, Cadillac needed a more efficient car. The new package is targeted at providing exactly that.
Taking stock of 2025
On paper, Cadillac ends 2025 titleless, but the result sheet doesn't tell the full story. In IMSA, Jack Aitken and Action Express Racing finished runners-up, backed by strong victories at Indianapolis and Petit Le Mans.
In the WEC, fourth in the manufacturers' standings hides a notably better season: a dominant 1-2 at Interlagos, three poles - including at the Le Mans 24 Hours - and a generally upward curve in performance. As a first year with Jota, it was more productive than the championship table suggests.
"We learned a huge amount this year," Jota team principal Sam Hignett said. "We need to sit down, relax, digest everything and come back stronger. The car has potential, the team has potential, the drivers do as well."
The #12 car, driven by Alex Lynn, Norman Nato and Will Stevens, delivered a solid set of results and fifth in the drivers' standings. The #38 of Earl Bamber, Sébastien Bourdais and Jenson Button had a more erratic season, and that inconsistency ultimately capped Cadillac's constructors' position.
"The #12 was the only car [in the Hypercar class] to score in every race," Hignett noted. "What we need now is to convert our qualifying pace into race results. And with the evo [package], I think we'll make a major step that should allow exactly that."
Which brings us to the main point: what is actually changing on the V-Series.R for 2026?
Aerodynamic philosophy: A reassessment
One-lap pace was never Cadillac's core issue. But the V-Series.R has struggled more for race pace, especially on low-drag circuits, and even more in dirty air and in traffic. The culprit: a car overly sensitive to ride height and pitch, forcing Cadillac to run it very low to unlock peak performance.
At Le Mans this year it was obvious: despite pole and fastest lap, the car couldn't stay in the fight. Very fast in the third sector, it was unable to compete with the Ferrari 499P and Porsche 963 on the straights, as evidenced by the first lap.
Cadillac therefore had to reposition the V-Series.R within the regulatory aero window by reducing both downforce and drag. That required a far deeper aerodynamic overhaul than it may appear.
Key visual changes include the removal of various drag-inducing elements such as the dive planes (1) and the rear- and front-wheel-arch appendages (2, 3). The front wheel-arch openings have been reworked (4), as has the rear block, particularly the Gurneys (7, below) and cheese wedges (8).
But the headline innovation is the completely redesigned and lower rear wing (5). The LMDh technical rulebook's article 3.4.1 states that only one bodywork adjustable aerodynamic device (front or rear wing, flap, single element diveplane, or gurney) may be used.
Cadillac's was previously located at the front (6). It has now been moved to the rear, prompting a full rethink of the rear wing, which is now adjustable. The result should broaden the car's operational window and improve its versatility and competitiveness on low-drag tracks and in the traffic.
This set of changes required one of the team's five available evo jokers until the end of 2027, but it wasn't the only one Cadillac deployed this winter.
A significant supplier switch
Alongside the aero update, Cadillac has followed BMW in shifting from Carbone Industrie brakes to Brembo. Brake temperature split left-to-right has been a recurring Cadillac weakness. Workarounds existed but weren't ideal.
The benefit isn't just at the pedal. Brake temperature directly affects tyre performance and pressure stability. If the IMSA Daytona test earlier this month is any indication, the system is already behaving more consistently.
"It is a new car with the goal of improving everything we could, and so far the target has been achieved," Louis Delétraz said after the IMSA-sanctioned Daytona test.
Cadillac has now used three evo jokers: one for its electronics overhaul last winter, and two more for brakes and aero. Two remain through 2027, plus the option of a second homologation.
Major reinforcements incoming
Cadillac Racing is also strengthening itself for 2026. Driver-wise, in WEC the main change is Aitken replacing the retiring Button in the #38. Aitken brings three years of IMSA Cadillac experience, making him a natural fit.
"We were close to signing Mick Schumacher, but for various reasons it couldn't happen," Hignett told The Race. "Jack made the most sense, he knows the car and GM [General Motors] well, and we've already seen with Earl the value of drivers running both IMSA and WEC."
In IMSA, Colton Herta joins the #40 Wayne Taylor Racing entry for the Daytona 24 Hours, Sebring and Petit Le Mans. Action Express will meanwhile run NASCAR prodigy Connor Zilisch at Daytona.
Perhaps the most significant signing, though, is in the engineering team: Jeromy Moore. One of the highest-regarded engineers in the paddock, Moore previously worked with Triple Eight Race Engineering (Red Bull Racing) in Australian Supercars and then became a key figure behind Porsche's victorious 919 Hybrid and 911 RSR programmes.
With Bob Friend retiring after the Bahrain 6 Hours, Leon Price steps in as Jota team manager. Formerly Envision Racing sporting director, he also worked with Mahindra, GP3 and the renowned David Price Racing team owned by his father.
"This year, the target was to win a race," Hignett said. "We've done that. Now the goal has to be Le Mans and/or the championship."
Cadillac has certainly equipped itself for the challenge, and the competition will undoubtedly watch the 2026 V-Series.R with more than a little concern.
