The honor of being the pace car at a motorsport event is often given to a sports car, most likely a muscle car during an American racing event. But instead of a muscle car, this year's Grand Prix of Sebring will be paced by the 2020 Cadillac CT5-V performance luxury sedan. Cadillac is the title sponsor of the event, so it makes sense why the CT5-V was chosen to be the pace vehicle.

The Cadillac Grand Prix will take place on Saturday, July 18 at Sebring International Raceway in Florida. This will be just the second race for the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series since it was paused during the global pandemic with the WeatherTech 240 At Daytona on Saturday, July 4, acting as the first race back.

"High-performance driving is part of Cadillac's DNA. We have all missed racing and we've been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to see our DPi-V.R prototypes compete on the track again," said Steve Carlisle, Cadillac president. "That's why Cadillac is proud to support IMSA's return to racing as the title sponsor of the July 18 race at Sebring, one of the world's most iconic tracks."

As a reminder, the Dpi-V.R race car was introduced back in 2016 to help sell Cadillac's V models. It is powered by 6.2-liter V8 producing 600 horsepower. By comparison, the CT5-V uses a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 360 hp and 405 lb-ft of torque going out through a 10-speed automatic transmission.

Just like all other CT5-V models, the pace car will be equipped with GM's fourth generation of Magnetic Ride Control suspension, electronic limited-slip differential, Brembo front brakes, and 19-inch wheels. It will also wear a unique IMSA Sebring graphics package, signifying it as the pace car. We would have liked to see Cadillac use the upcoming CT5-V Blackwing as a pace car since it will be powered by a much more potent 6.2-liter V8 but perhaps the company is still waiting for a better time to reveal it.