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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