Click above for more shots of the CTS-V on the 'Ring
The badassery going in inside the supercharged LSA V8 stuffed under the domed hood of the 2009 Cadillac CTS-V appears to translate well on the Nordschleife's graffiti-marked tarmac. GM announced today that John Heinricy exercised his right to life, liberty and the pursuit of a record time by wheeling a CTS-V with production-spec performance mods around the Nürburgring's north loop in 7:59.32, which is believed to be the "fastest documented lap time" for a production sedan. Even if that turns out not to be the case, it's pretty freakin' fast. GM shot video of the whole thing, which should be released in the coming days. Somewhere, Nissan engineers with furrowed brows are shoving the GT-R's 3.8L V6 into a G35 sedan...
[Source: GM]
PRESS RELEASE:
2009 CTS-VBlisters Nurburgring
Breaks 8-minute barrier - potentially the fastest documented lap time for a production sedan
In testing today at Germany's Nurburgring, Cadillac's upcoming new 2009 CTS-Vcompleted 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 for 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. The car itself had no performance modifications outside of those 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.
Video documentation of the car's breakthrough Nordschleife performance will be posted online in the coming days at http://cadillac.gmblogs.com
The eight-minute mark has long been recognized as a major Nurburgring milestone, reserved for race cars and the fastest exotic sports cars. While there's no single official repository for Nurburgring data from private test sessions, numerous reputable websites and publications report lap times from race teams, automakers and independent sources.
The new 2009 CTS-V includes a suite of advanced performance technologies, including a new version of Cadillac's acclaimed Magnetic Ride Control suspension and the LSA 6.2-liter Supercharged V8 engine. For the first time, CTS-V will include the choice of 6-speed manual or automatic transmissions, with the new automatic sporting steering wheel-mounted shift buttons.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Benfolio @ May 9th 2008 2:49PM
HOLY TEXT LINK, BATMAN!!
Alex Nunez @ May 9th 2008 2:55PM
Indeed. And....fixed.
Benfolio @ May 9th 2008 2:50PM
Anyone get a time for that ZR-1 yet??
pmiddle5 @ May 9th 2008 3:08PM
I heard 8.02 and no one was allowed to use the circuit for 3 weeks after;the massive amounts of tire smoke hung in the air similar John Carpenter's "The Fog"
LMBVette @ May 9th 2008 4:17PM
The ZR1 has 88 more HP and roughly 700 pounds less weight.....I'd say the ZR1 should be rather quick.
I think I might just have to trade in the Vette for this car....drool...............
Unknown @ May 9th 2008 5:19PM
Yeah what is up with that. GM is at the ring testing the CTS-V and the ZR1 and we only get the times for the CTS-V. Hmmm. sounds fishy to me. :)
Ford Wannup @ May 9th 2008 6:27PM
"The ZR1 has 88 more HP and roughly 700 pounds less weight....."
Funny, unlike the GT-R posts, no one accused Caddy as a lie and a cheat: that it's "impossible" for a car with lower hp and heavier weight to be faster.
Congrats to Caddy. More than anything, this shows that chassis dynamics and traction are just as important as raw power.
rouse42 @ May 9th 2008 6:33PM
"Yeah what is up with that. GM is at the ring testing the CTS-V and the ZR1 and we only get the times for the CTS-V. Hmmm. sounds fishy to me. :)"
sounds like GM is not happy with there ZR1 lap time.
Golferal @ May 9th 2008 6:51PM
The Caddy is a production car and the ZR1 is still a prototype. They are still sorting out the tuning and suspension calibrations before posting an official time for the ZR1.
Xcountryflyer @ May 9th 2008 2:50PM
The longer the better eh? The CTS-V looks very formidable. Hopefully, one further step for GM to becoming world competitive again.
hashiryu @ May 9th 2008 2:51PM
Such creative wording....
Juan @ May 10th 2008 3:15PM
Was thinking the same thing... "badassery" is an awesome word...
Yar @ May 9th 2008 2:59PM
Caddy is once again the standard of the world.
3seriesisking @ May 9th 2008 3:27PM
Don't be jumping the gun just yet my friend. They haven't even sold one yet.
JoeBlo1 @ May 10th 2008 2:15PM
Most people in the world (outside America) don't care much about Cadillac. What 'standard' are you talking about? Cadillac was a joke just ten years ago.
Dolemite @ May 9th 2008 7:58PM
Yar, 3series is right you know. This car only has awesome looks, awesome performance, awesome quality (including the interior), and is an all-around worldbeater and makes BMW look like Kia, but that does not mean that it will be a success. I mean they have not even sold one yet!
Phillip @ May 10th 2008 12:27AM
Actually... one has been sold: http://cadillac.gmblogs.com/2008/04/sale_no_1.html
3seriesisking @ May 10th 2008 10:43AM
I'm not saying it isn't a performer. Nothing helps the industry build better cars than better products from the competition. And that in the end gets us drivers better cars to drive. To say that caddy is "the standard of the world" after just starting to make good cars like this and not very long after making cars like the Catera (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/1997-99_Cadillac_Catera.jpg/800px-1997-99_Cadillac_Catera.jpg) up until 2001 just sounds a little premature to me.
Brandon C @ May 9th 2008 2:59PM
think they over did it just a bit lol
Justin Hollabaugh @ May 9th 2008 2:59PM
Can you get it with a proper manual transmission?