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Manufacturers prepare updated GTP cars for IMSA Daytona test

Updated versions of several favorite GTP cars were unloaded from their haulers today as preparation for the IMSA Sanctioned Test at Daytona International Speedway got underway Thursday morning.

BMW, Cadillac, Acura, and Porsche all had updates to their prototypes, with some changes more comprehensive than others. In the case of the BMW M Hybrid V8, the most apparent visual changes are at the front. Not only with the reduced-size kidney grilles at the front of the car, but on Monday, BMW M revealed a new design for the headlights of the M Hybrid V8.

These changes reflect the appearance of some of BMW M’s road cars, which have yellow accented head lights as a tribute to BMW M models of the past. The changes are not only stylistic, as improved visibility has also been promised.

“In the end, we just did an update on the aerodynamics,” BMW M Motorsport project lead Achim Klein explained during a media briefing on the car at the Bahrain FIA WEC finale. “Obviously, it looks like a new car, but officially, it’s just an aerodynamic update with visual styling. The overall front split is changed. The kidney (grille), of course, is changed.

“What you see here is the outer shape of the car, but it changes the behavior a lot. And this is more or less the intention of improving the car. We’re running in a BOP [balance of per formance] championship, so we have to find the areas where we can improve the car on the technical side.

“Of course, we plan to find an advantage in the overall concept of the car. Other manufacturers are doing this as well – after running three years with the car, you find that you are somehow in a corner where you cannot develop from.

“With this step here, we’re trying to set the base for opening up new setup directions, performance directions, where to evolve.”

Cadillac, meanwhile, has seemingly streamlined its V-Series.R for 2026. At the front, the front winglets and diveplanes have been removed, and the splitter has been modified, particularly the stakes between the splitter and the body. The rear spoiler has been lowered, and the rear wheel cover designs have been simplified with fewer louvers.

Acura has opted for minimal changes in what Honda Racing Corporation US President David Salters described as a “tidying up” of the ARX-06’s design – unrelated to new, darker liveries that were also unveiled for the test.

“Have a little look around the front of the car and the back of the car, and that’s about it. They’re not huge changes for us,” Salters told RACER.

The rear wheel covers have been reshaped, as have the front diveplanes, but no major changes were needed as Acura Meyer Shank Racing’s drivers have been pleased with the car’s performance and raceability so far.

“The general balance of the car is OK. I don’t believe we’ve got any big issues to address,” Salters added. “We’ve not really experienced any Achilles heels. It’s not like we’ve thought, ‘Oh, we’ve got to change our suspension geometry or this, that, and the other.’ Generally, we’re happy. There’s a reasonable balance on the car.”

Changes to Porsche’s 963 include a reprofiled front splitter configuration and modified rear diffuser strakes, which are on both the Porsche Penske Motorsport factory cars.

The only GTP car that hasn’t utilized any of its Evo “joker” upgrades heading into Friday and Saturday’s tests is the Aston Martin Valkyrie, which is set to make its Rolex 24 At Daytona debut in January.