Cadillac CTS-V did the Nurburgring in 7:59

In testing this morning at Germany’s Nurburgring, Cadillac’s upcoming new 2009 CTS-V completed a lap of the legendary Nordschleife in 7:59.32. This blistering time appears to be the fastest ever publicly documented for a production sedan.

Cadillac is nearing the completion of testing of the highly anticipated CTS-V, the limited-edition high-performance model based on the award-winning CTS sport sedan. John Heinricy, GM Performance Division executive and an acclaimed racing driver, piloted the CTS-V through its sub-8 minute lap today. The car itself was equipped exactly as planned for consumer production, which is scheduled to begin this fall.

Estimated at 550-hp, the CTS-V is at the moment going through the final stages of intensive testing and development. One of the realistic objectives of the Cadillac team is to make the CTS-V the world’s fastest production sedan, as a part of the overall goal to make the V-Series Cadillac’s ultimate expression of performance and technology. More updates will be released in the coming weeks as testing is finalized, including the car’s certified SAE power ratings, acceleration specifications and U.S.-market pricing.