The most famous endurance road race on the FIA World Endurance Championship schedule took place this past weekend. This year marked the 101st anniversary of the 24 Hour of Le Mans, and to celebrate the event, Cadillac unveiled the Le Monstre and Petit Pataud limited-production sedans based on the CT5-V and CT4-V Blackwing models.

Image courtesy of Cadillac.

The race in 1950 marked the first time Cadillac competed at Le Mans. The famous entrepreneur and racer Briggs Cunningham entered two Cadillac Series 61 Coupes in the Le Mans race that year. At the time, the rules allowed the re-bodying of standard automobiles. Cunningham entered one of the Series 61 coupes with minimal exterior modifications. It only received air ducts for the brakes, an extra fuel tank, and a dual-carburetor intake manifold. The French locals referred to this car as Petit Pataud.

Cunningham’s second entry became known as Le Monstre, The Monster. Working with a Grumman Aircraft engineer and utilizing a wind tunnel for testing, an entirely new body was fabricated for the Cadillac’s factory chassis. Le Monstre’s aluminum-skinned exterior looked like the Cadillac had been flattened in a press. However, it was three inches narrower than the Petit Pataud Series 61, and the aerodynamics gave Le Monstre a 13 mph advantage over the other Cadillac. Unfortunately, a run-in with a sand bank that required Le Monstre to be dug out by hand resulted in the one-off coupe finishing in 11th place, with the Petit Pataud Cadillac completing the race in 10th place.

Honoring Cadillac’s racing history at Le Mans, the 2025 CT5-V Blackwing Le Monstre Edition pays homage to the one-of-a-kind Series 61 Coupe that began Cadillac’s endurance racing legacy. The CT4-V Blackwing Petit Pataud Edition honors the second Cadillac from the 1950 Le Mans race.

Mechanically, these limited-production models produced under Cadillac’s Collector Series banner remain the same as the brand’s other Blackwing sedans. The CT4-V Blackwing is powered by a twin-turbo 3.6L V6 producing 472 horsepower, while its big brother, the CT5-V Blackwing, packs GM’s supercharged 6.2L LT4 V8 under its hood. The big V8 makes 668 horsepower and can launch the sedan from 0 to 60 mph in less than 4 seconds. A 6-speed manual transmission or a 10-speed automatic transmission is available in both Blackwing models.

Both of these Collector Series Cadillacs receive the same visual enhancements. The exteriors are painted matte Magnus Metal Frost and accented by Stormhawk Blue carbon fiber components, including the side skirts, front splitter, and rear spoiler. The brake calipers are finished in Royal Blue. Inside, the blue theme continues with Royal Blue interiors and Santorini Blue or Jet Black accents with seats covered in either Sky Cool Gray or Jet Black. Both Collector Series cars will have 3D-printed medallions with the cars’ race number atop the gear shifter and laser-etched sill plates with the cars’ names and numbers. Additionally, each car receives limited edition badging on the B-pillar.

Image courtesy of Cadillac.

Cadillac is producing 101 examples of the 2025 CT5-V Blackwing Le Monstre Edition in honor of the 101st anniversary of the fabled race. Additionally, only 50 of the 2025 CT4-V Blackwing Petit Pataud Edition are slated for production, a tip of the cap to Cadillac’s 1950 debut at Le Mans. Although there has yet to be any pricing information announced for these two Collector Series Cadillacs, don’t expect them to last long. Production and deliveries are expected to be in early 2025.