The Cadillac CTS is a mid-size produce by General Motors since 2002. So far, it has seen two generations with a third in the works for 2013.
The current model is offered in sedan, coupe, and sport-wagon variants with a choice of three different engines. The first is a 3.0L V6 developing 260hp and 223 lb-ft of torque. The second engine is a 3.6L V6 producing 304hp and 273 lb-ft of torque, while the top of the line 6.2L Supercharged V8 engine delivers 556hp and 551 lb-ft of torque. These engines are mated to either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission.
Well Bob Lutz laid down his V-Series Challenge and Cadillac seems to have retained their title of the world’s fastest sport sedan, with a little help from their friends of course. Owners of factory tuned fast four doors were invited to the Monticello Motor Club just outside of New York City and take on the CTS-V in a fast lap competition against the General Motors Vice Chairman, Bob Lutz, as well as a few seasoned racers and friends of GM like Brian Redman, Aaron Link and John Heinricy. Throwing a wrench into Cadillac’s plans was Skip Barber graduate Michael Cooper and his four door BMW M3, although the New York native is no professional, he did manage to finish right behind GM’s trio of road course ringers. Either way Cadillac did prove that the CTS-V can go fast, even with Bob Lutz behind the wheel, and everyone in attendance had more than they can seem to remember. In a time where consumers are more concerned with efficiency than outright lap times, it is nice to see that there are still automaker’s that are giving high performance driving enthusiasts exactly what they are asking for. Even more importantly, it shows that they still know how to have fun.
Resting in the shadows of the award winning Converj concept car, Cadillac was showing off a piece of their production car finest, another award winner, the Cadillac CTS-V. The dark grey super sedan took Top Speed’s car of the year award last year thanks to its practical four door layout and ability to take up to five from 0 to 60 MPH in 3.9 seconds because of the 556 HP 6.2 Liter supercharged V8 sitting under the power bulge in the hood. The mid size sport sedan will be defending the honor of General Motors later on this week at New York state’s Monticello Motor Club as GM’s knight in shining armor because of King Lutz’s challenge.
Just last week we reported about how the satellite service Onstar stopped its first car jacking by disabling a 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe only 16 minutes after it was taken thanks to their Stolen Vehicle Slowdown system. Well this time the little blue button was still on alert, except that there was no cause for concern. The American tuning house Hennessey was testing their 700 HP Cadillac CTS-V at the drag strip when a hard launch measuring as much as .99 G of longitudinal force triggered one of Onstar’s safety parameters and caused an operator to contact the driver mid run down the 1320. Luckily no one was actually in need of assistance at the time, but this is just more reassuring proof that Onstar has you covered.
Recently Bob Lutz, General Motors Vice Chairman, issued a challenge to the world in which he hopes to prove that the Cadillac CTS-V is hands down the fastest four door sports car on the market today. Mr. Lutz is inviting all comers with a stock production sedan to challenge the chairman’s best lap time around the Monticello Motor Club’s race track on October 29. If you are intersted in taking on the 556 HP CTS-V in your own fast four door then follow the link below.
Unfortunately as a consequence of General Motor’s recent fiscal restructuring, their High Performance Vehicle Operations team was temporarily disbanded and put to work on everyday people movers. However this new spy shot thanks to our friends at Left Lane News, it looks like the supercharged Cadillac CTS-V is back on track to go on sale sometime in 2010. We had heard rumors of a possible V powered wagon, these photos of the two door model are giving us hope that there will be much more to come.
Giving away the fact that the camouflage wearing coupe is a BMW M3 fighting high performance V-series model are the: Cadillac crested large wire grill that shines through the plastic mesh covering, power dome in the hood that covers the blown 6.2 Liter LSA V8 that is good for a total of 556 HP and 551 ft-lb of torque and a rather meaty looking center mounted dual exhaust to finish off the upscale muscle car theme of the Cadillac V-Series lineup.
However the single largest aspect of the production ready looking CTS-V coupe mule that gives it away as a V-Series, aside from the taped up emblems on the doors, is the running gear. Only one other car in the General Motors catalog wears a set of wheels like those, and especially with a beefy set of brake calipers underneath. Due to the fact that the Pontiac G8 GXP doesn’t have much of a future, despite being such a wonderful automobile, is that this CTS-V coupe is looking more and more like a production car.
