A truly epic Cadillac Northstar LMP 01 prototype is
currently up for sale from Race Cars Direct and represents a rare opportunity
to buy a racer that did the American motorsport community proud. Cadillac built the Northstar LMP
racers to compete in the American Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The project only ran for two years, without much success, after which the
company pulled the plug.
The Northstar LMP 01 was raced throughout 2001 and
replaced the LMP which Cadillac had launched the previous year. The LMP 01
adopts a more angular design, yet shared most of its mechanical parts with the
older model.
This particular LMP 01 is chassis #004. It actually
started out life in 2000 and was one of two vehicles updated to the 2001 LMP 01
specification, while the third LMP 01 was built from scratch for that season.
The #004 car came 22nd at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2000 and 15th the following
year. It also finished in fourth place at 2001’s ALMS Petit Le Mans, ALMS
Laguna Seca, and ALMS Mosport races – so, there are no champagne bottles to go
with its stunning looks.
The prototype is currently located in Chichester in
the UK and, unsurprisingly, no asking price has been made public. However, it
has been confirmed that it will be sold with a comprehensive spare parts
package and is currently outfitted with an Indy-spec, naturally-aspirated
Oldsmobile Aurora engine, although a period-correct, twin-turbocharged Cadillac
Northstar V8 will also be supplied.
