We just wrote about Cadillac Racing, which is in the doldrums in the World Endurance Championship. The automaker is second to last in the World Endurance Championship manufacturers’ standings. However, the factory-backed V-Series.R returned to its best form at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The No. 2 and No. 3 cars only qualified second and third on the Hypercar grid after Penske-Porsche driver Kevin Estre put in a surprise lap at the end of the session to take pole. A happy coincidence for Cadillac, which chose Le Mans to launch two new cars in its Collector Series dedicated to the brand’s first competitive appearance at La Sarthe, when racing legend Briggs Cunningham developed two versions of the Cadillac Series 61 Coupe to compete at Le Mans in 1950. The French public nicknamed both, one Le Monstre and the other Petit Pataud (“Little Clumsy”). Now they are honored with the 2025 CT5-V Blackwing Le Monstre and the CT4-V Blackwing Petit Pataud.
(From 2017, the Cadillac DPi-VR Prototype IMSA racing car, Le Monstre and Petite Pataud)
Note that Cunningham was a privateer – Cadillac had nothing to do with either car – and originally wanted a Cadillac V8 engine for a Ford chassis. Le Mans rules at the time allowed production cars with new bodies, but the engine and chassis had to be from the same manufacturer, so Cunningham stuck with the Cadillac 331 cubic inch (5.4 liter) V8 with standard 160 horsepower.
Back to the present, Cadillac designers have prepared a CT5-V Blackwing to honor Cunningham’s aerodynamic body, with a riveted aluminum skin formed with the help of Grumman Aircraft and a wind tunnel typically used to test slow-flying aircraft such as agricultural aircraft. Production is scheduled to begin early next year. Cadillac will make 101 examples to celebrate the first running of the race in 1932 (due to various interruptions, the race is running for the 92nd time this year). The Magnus Metal Frost exterior paint gets Stormhawk Blue carbon fiber accents and Royal Blue brake calipers, black mirror caps and badges, a medallion with the original Le Monstre’s number 2 and an American flag, the car’s nickname on the side sills, and laser-engraved door sills. A Phantom Blue interior with Santorini accents features Jet Black or Sky Cool Gray seats and a 3D-printed racing number medallion above the six-speed manual transmission.
The 2025 CT4-V Blackwing Petit Petaud will receive the same treatment and equipment, but the number 3 of the original coupe. Only 50 of these will roll off the production line, a nod to the 1950 race.
Cunningham sent his two cars as a test to see if American cars could run the French race; the Stars and Stripes had not sent a representative to Le Mans since trying a Duesenberg in 1935. He performed well with both; Le Monstre fell to 35th of 60 cars when Cunningham crashed into a sandbar on the second lap and had to dig the car out. He fought his way back to 11th with co-driver Phil Walters. Petit Pataud finished 10th, 8 kilometers behind Le Monstre.
Today, Cadillac is part of an American contingent, but the only one competing for the overall championship. Last year, the team qualified seventh and eighth and finished third and fourth. This year, with a single Porsche up front, there may be a chance Cadillac will have to add a “#1” to the 2025 special editions next year.
The race began this morning, Eastern time. If you’re looking for some variety during the slow sections, check out Cadillac Racing’s Le Mans documentary. No perfect formula now on YouTube, or read about the originals Le Monstre and Petit Petaud at the Revs Institute, the museum in Naples, Florida, which counts both cars in its collection. If there’s anything even more awesome, it’s Cadillac Racing, which is streaming the race live on YouTube, the first eight hours of the race here, the second eight hours here, the third eight hours here.