2025 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing 'Le Monstre' limited edition celebrates Le Mans

We just wrote about Cadillac Racing in the doldrums in the World Endurance Championship, the automaker sitting next-to-last in the World Endurance Championship's manufacturer's standings. The factory-backed V-Series.R found its mojo at this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans, though, the #2 and #3 cars qualifying second and third on the Hypercar grid only after Penske Porsche driver Kevin Estre blitzed a surprising end-of-session lap to take pole. A happy coincidence for Cadillac, which chose Le Mans to launch two new entries 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 contest Le Mans in 1950. The French public nicknamed both of them, one called Le Monstre, one called Petit Pataud ("Little Clumsy"). They're now honored with the 2025 CT5-V Blackwing Le Monstre and CT4-V Blackwing Petit Pataud.

(From 2017, the Cadillac DPi-V.R Prototype IMSA racer, Le Monstre, and Petite Pataud)

Note, Cunningham entered as a privateer — Cadillac had nothing to do with either car — and he originally wanted a Cadillac V8 engine for a Ford chassis. Le Mans rules at the time allowed rebodied production cars, but the engine and chassis had to come from the same manufacturer, so Cunningham stuck with the Cadillac's 331-cubic-inch V8 (5.4 liters) with a stock 160 horsepower.