Team Penske is emerging as a potential buyer of Cadillac’s factory programs, with the possibility of taking over one—or perhaps two—official entries in 2028 as Roger Penske pursues a coveted triumph at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Numerous industry insiders have told Sportscar365 that negotiations are under way between Penske and General Motors about a Cadillac V-Series.R works program that could be fully up and running in 2028.
At minimum, a single-car Hypercar entry for Le Mans next year appears almost certain, with a potential ramp‑up to a full-season program in the FIA World Endurance Championship and/or the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship subsequently.
This development comes as Penske’s deal with Porsche to operate its factory GTP effort in the WeatherTech Championship ends after the 2027 season, with no plans to extend, and Porsche preparing to reorient its LMDh efforts toward customer entries only.
Penske Racing President Jonathan Diuguid was on site at the recent 6 Hours of Barcelona, reportedly to advance discussions about a 2027 program featuring a lone LMDh-based prototype.
Nevertheless, discussions are said to have gained momentum in recent weeks, potentially enabling Penske to replace Hertz Team JOTA in the World Endurance Championship and/or Wayne Taylor Racing in the WeatherTech Championship come 2028.
A GM spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by Sportscar365, while a Penske representative said, “we have no comment or updates on 2028.”
The potential upheaval would hinge on contracts with Penske’s current three outfits, including Action Express Racing, which are currently confirmed only through the end of next year.
JOTA Sport co-owner Sam Hignett, whose British squad took over the works WEC Hypercar program from Chip Ganassi Racing in 2025, would not confirm Cadillac’s involvement in 2028.
“I would say we’re very happy and let’s leave it at that,” Hignett told Sportscar365 at last weekend’s 6 Hours of Monza WEC season finale. “We’ve got a great partner in Cadillac and we’re very happy.”
It is believed Penske would favor a full-season WEC program to be best prepared for Le Mans, though the outfit would need to rebuild its European operations from scratch after only a handful of personnel remained at its Mannheim, Germany shop following Porsche’s withdrawal from the WEC Hypercar class at the end of 2025.
However, the WeatherTech Championship path would likely be easier, given that the GTP-winning operation remains intact to run the two factory Porsche 963s for one final season.
WTR, which currently operates two of the three factory Cadillacs in IMSA, also possesses the strongest ties to GM among Penske’s current partners due to its more than two decades of collaboration with the automaker.
The idea of a Penske Le Mans–only entry in 2027, likely based out of Mooresville, North Carolina, would benefit from no testing restrictions since the car would not be entered in the full-season championship.
While a project not competing in the WeatherTech Championship or any of the ACO-managed series would normally miss out on an invitation to the French endurance classic, Sportscar365 has learned that Cadillac has been allocated four berths for the race to be distributed at the manufacturer’s discretion.
Cadillac trimmed its Le Mans commitment to three cars this year at Action Express Racing’s request in order to focus on WeatherTech Championship efforts, but plans to return to Circuit de la Sarthe in 2027 after clinching the WeatherTech Championship GTP title.
WTR has already ruled out a Le Mans return next year, which would clear the way for a Penske Cadillac entry.
Stephen Lickorish contributed to this report
