Cadillac has a new race car - and you won't believe what it looks like

If you think Cadillac is just about luxury cars with a certain bold American attitude - well, Cadillac is about that. But the automaker, which moved its sales and marketing operations to New York City in 2015, is also a serious player in auto racing. Caddy just doesn't talk about it that much.

Now, though, the car maker is going big time. Caddy is entering a new racing series with a new car that looks pretty amazing.

On Wednesday, Cadillac revealed its DPi-V.R and announced that it will join the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Daytona Prototype International series.

This type of endurance racing is sort of tricky to understand, but basically, there are two groups that compete: prototypes and sports cars.

Prototypes, like the new Cadillac, are the most exotic vehicles at the race. They're test beds for new technologies and endurance racing is where they face their sternest test. At the Rolex 24 race in Daytona, FL. next year, which is where Cadillac will make its debut, the cars run for 24 hours.

The sports cars, however, are race-car versions of road cars. The Corvettes look like Vettes, the Ford GTs look like Ford GTs, and the Ferrari 488s look like Ferrari 488s. They aren't as fast as the prototypes, though, which are the outright winners of the races they're entered in alongside the sports cars.

Two teams will take to the Daytona International Speedway at the end of January in the Caddy prototype, Wayne Taylor Racing and Action Express Racing, Cadillac said.

The machine is striking.

"The DPi-V.R race car was an exciting new canvas for the Cadillac design and sculpting team," Andrew Smith, Global Cadillac Design executive director, said in a statement.

"The studio embraced the opportunity to interpret the Cadillac form language, line work and graphic signature for this premier prototype racing application. Every detail of the final design was selected to support the car's on-track performance and unmistakable Cadillac presence."

Motivating the DPi-V.R is 6.2 liter V-8 engine, related to the 640-horsepower Cadillac CTS-V motors, according the Cadillac. In the race car, it will crank out 600 horsepower and send all that oomph to the rear wheels through hardy, raceworthy transmission.

"Cadillac is proud to return to the pinnacle of prototype racing in North America after a 14-year absence," Johan de Nysschen, Cadillac's president, said in a statement.