Remember when we told you that these days, drag races can be a battleground where budget wagons battle luxo-barges, or fully-blown sports cars are challenged by super-sedans? Well, it happened again, since someone thought that pitting the 2020 Chevy Corvette C8 against a 2019 Cadillac CTS-V is a good idea. Let’s not get silly. It’s a brilliant idea.
Front-mounted 6.2-liter V-8 meets mid-mounted 6.2-liter V-8
If you didn’t know by now - shame on you, by the way - the mid-engined C8 Corvette cranks out 495 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of twist aimed at the rear wheels. And yes, it’s quick, as in 0-to-60-mph-in-3-seconds-flat quick when fitted with the Z51 performance package. It has to be, because Chevy built it to compete against the likes of Audi R8, Lambo Huracán, or Mercedes-AMG GT.
So, where does that leave the 2019 Cadillac CTS-V? Well, it’s not exactly underpowered, eight. In fact, its supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 cranks out 640 horsepower, a hefty 145-horsepower advantage over the C8, and 630 pound-feet of torque, 160 more than the Vette.
The CTS-V wins, right?
No. It doesn’t. Even though it benefits from less power and torque, the C8 is lighter and more apt at putting down all its resources, therefore it’s able to leave the CTS-V choking on a cloud of dust. Plus, there’s a lot of wheel spin experienced by the driver in the CTS-V, as you’ll see in the video below.
However, we must note that the CTS-V isn’t giving up without a fight and actually manages to hold its own against the Corvette and even beat it (twice) in a rolling start. But from a standstill, Cadillac’s super-sedan has no chance of hurting the C8.