Yahoo Autos Cadillac Releases Trailer for Upcoming Road to Le Mans Documentary
Cadillac is making its second attempt at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in as many years and is about to release a documentary about the event.
No Perfect Formula is a full-length film that showcases the automaker's V-Series.R as it competed in the 2023 endurance race.
Viewers can see the full documentary starting on May 31 via Samsung Galaxy apps, Samsung Smart TV, and online.
A new documentary on Cadillac's most recent racing effort, slated for release at the end of May, is about two roads: one real and one metaphorical.
No Perfect Formula follows Cadillac's engineers and racing teams along the road to competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is held in part on real roads in and around the town of Le Mans, France. This will be the third time Cadillacs have roared down the circuit's famous Mulsanne straight: Caddys attacked the 24-hour classic in 1950 and again from 2000 to 2002, with no wins to show for it.
This time could be different. Cadillac has a real chance at the overall win. Its racer, the V-Series.R, competes in the top-spec global hybrid prototype class that kicked off in 2023, and this documentary is a lead-in to the teams' second attempt at the 2024 around-the-clock endurance test, which takes the green flag on Saturday, June 15, at 10 a.m. ET.
Though neither previous Le Mans effort effort saw success, the V-Series.R had already proved it can do better. Three Rs are currently competing worldwide, two in the U.S. in IMSA's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and a single R in Europe's FIA World Endurance Championship. In 2023, Cadillac took the IMSA driver, team, and manufacturer's championships, no small feat when you consider it was competing with equally impressive factory efforts from Acura, Porsche, and BMW, who all field cars built to the same rules as the V-Series.R.
To date, the U.S.-based V-Series.R has taken overall wins at Laguna Seca, Sebring, and Long Beach. The FIA series has been tougher, with no wins so far but a third-place overall at last year's Le Mans 24 Hours. Hence the potential for a triumph at one of the most storied races in the world.
It's hard to know from the short trailer that Cadillac has released just how deep No Perfect Formula will go behind the scenes and how honestly it will portray Cadillac's efforts. After all, this is very much a feel-good story, America against the world, an underdog luxury carmaker fighting for more credibility—never mind that its V-series Blackwing production cars are possibly the best performance sedans in the world and multi-time 10Best winners.
But the trailer does hint that the story won't be a hide-all-the-rough-spots fairy tale. The trailer footage shows V-Series.Rs crashing, spinning out on rainswept pavement, and spewing flames—and the reactions of the team members who have worked tirelessly to make their car competitive.
If the trailer is any indication, the production values are high, the footage is fast-paced, and at the very least the documentary will convey the excitement and color that is international sports car competition—and the engineering effort, long hours, and transparent effort required to take on the best in the world. We can't wait to see it in full.
No Perfect Formula will debut at 7:00 p.m. ET on May 31 and from then until the 24 Hours of Le Mans gets underway on June 15, can be seen "all night, as well as every Friday at 7 p.m. ET," on various Samsung Smart TV and Galaxy phone apps and on the Samsung website.
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