VIDEO: Bob Lutz prepares for V-Series Challenge at Monticello
Bob Lutz prepares for V-Series Challenge - Click above to watch video after the jump
The pieces are now in place for the V-Series Challenge set to take place at the Monticello Motor Club on October 29. Behind the wheel of a Cadillac CTS-V, Bob Lutz will take on the competition in a run-what-you-brung type shoot out against players chosen by GM from the automotive media and general population. The video after the jump shows Lutz already on site practicing his lines on Monticello's 22-turn track (we're not sure yet what track configuration will be used). Maximum Bob will clearly have an advantage in terms of knowing the track, though General Motors is also bringing along ace pilot and former GMer John Heinricy in case the competition comes with some pro-am or above drivers.
Sounds like a good time, though we've heard through the grapevine that despite receiving around 120 applicants, the five vehicles chosen by GM to take on the CTS-V don't stand much of a chance. One we do know that will be present is a Jaguar XFR piloted by Wes Siler from Jalopnik.
We also asked Porsche about this whole business, since it would seem that the Panamera Turbo has one of the best shots at beating a CTS-V. Unless an actual owner was chosen by GM to be a challenger, however, there won't be a Panamera Turbo present. Porsche told us that they weren't approving any loans of the Panamera Turbo to the media for this event, and we've heard rumblings of the same sort from Mercedes-Benz concerning its AMG-fortified hardware.
We can't blame them. This is a GM event and the deck is stacked in their favor. Letting an auto journalist represent your brand in this super sedan pissing contest seems like a lose-lose proposition for any automaker in its right mind. Jaguar apparently disagrees, but we'll see what happens come October 29.
UPDATE: GM got in touch with us to clarify that the video footage was shot at the company's Milford Proving Grounds, and that Lutz has never raced at Monticello before.
[Source: GM]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Shamdiddly 1:30PM (10/23/2009)
IBLutzriggedeverythingGMcheatssomesortofBugattiwouldtotallyruleandHeinricyisunfair comments.
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John H. 2:26PM (10/23/2009)
Note that there's a total noob to race driving with CTS-V in the mix, too. I wonder how he'll do...
Shamdiddly 2:32PM (10/23/2009)
I saw that. : )
Honestly - other car manufacturers are running the 'ring in their cars and comparing times posted by GM with the CTS-V and the ZR-1.
Love it or hate it, GM still recognizes how to get the blood pumping through motorheads' veins - whether in support of the brand or in defense of another.
PJ 5:29PM (10/23/2009)
I have no problem with this media event in and of itself--it's no different than any other manufacturer-sponsored "comparison" circus, in that the manufacturer makes sure it's going to come out looking good.
What does bother me, though, is the mindset it represents. GM does not need to blow money promoting its halo cars. Halo cars have never been GM's problem, even in the dark days of the '80s and '90s--the enthusiast could always order up a ZR-1, or Aurora, or STS, etc... and have a world-class product (every one of which GM likely lost money on).
GM needs to understand that *core products* are what matter, not high-profile pissing contests. They should be just as unafraid to compare their Aveos, or their Impalas, or their Equinoxes to everything else in the class and come out indisputably on top. GM still banks on consumers being dumb enough to project "Corvette heritage" onto their crap Cobalt and be happy with it, and that doesn't work anymore.
Shamdiddly 8:22AM (10/24/2009)
PJ,
Take a stop by your local GM franchise and check out the core products, you'll be surprised.
Luis 1:34PM (10/23/2009)
Great to see my hometown mentioned on Autoblog. Of course I haven't lived there since I was 8, but nice nonetheless.
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Sofa King Fast! 1:35PM (10/23/2009)
Bob Lutz is a geezer.
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Coolio 2:11PM (10/23/2009)
You will be too one day, if you are lucky. If you are not, you'll be pushing up daisies.
Regardless, will you have accomplished as much ?
Tone down your youthful arrogance. Time will do it for you eventually. IOW STFU.
Thank you.
Salty Gator 2:47PM (10/23/2009)
HAHA, Bob Lutz is a geezer.
At least he's not a "self loathing" geezer like Coolio there. Nobody ever said he didn't have a sweet job. Tone down your geezer ego!
Coolio 2:51PM (10/23/2009)
To Salty Gator and Sofa King Fast:
I am not a geezer but I agree with Salty Gator. I will tone down my comment - it was incorrectly too harsh.
Fyrewerx 10:35AM (10/24/2009)
I "am" a geezer. But that doesn't stop me from driving the premium performance vehicles from GM, or any other manufacturer, in competition. It keeps my reaction times sharp (or at least lets me measure how much they've degraded in the last 44 years of driving SCCA).
BTW - Paul Newman was a geezer, too. In the last months of his life, at 83 years old, he was still taking hot-laps at Limerock:
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/08/26/paul-newman-takes-last-laps-at-lime-rock/
Enigmatic 1:35PM (10/23/2009)
I can't imagine GM sponsoring an event like this if they had any chance of actually losing. The fact they pick their competitors clearly points to that.
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thipps 2:01PM (10/23/2009)
Because they wont let any person with a high power 4 door in they r stacking it? i dont know how to explain this one to you. bet that every car that has a chance of beating it will be there and that no car will beat it.
montoym 2:20PM (10/23/2009)
Well, they did state the rules for the competition and I think it's totally within their right to make sure that the entrants matched the criteria. It's no more unfair than someone trying to sneak in an aftermarket special or other non-production sedan.
It's not difficult to believe that out of 120 entries, that most of them either wouldn't stand a chance(i.e way underpowered), or that they felt they weren't stock sedans as was the challenge.
I can't think of more than about 10-15 actual production sedans that would even be close to matching the performance of the CTS-V, certainly no where near 120. Outside of the Germans(M-cars, AMG-cars, RS-cars, and the Panamera), what sedans would even stand a chance? The Jag might be up there, but it's nowhere near as sport-oriented as the CTS-V. Aston's got the Rapide and Maserati has the Quattroporte, both of which I place in a similar slot as the XFR. Any Bentley or Rolls sedan would be too heavy(and also not sport-oriented) even if the power is close.
Honestly, of any cars out there (that fit the criteria), I think the C63, E63, M3, M5, Panamera Turbo and maybe the RS4 (since we have no RS6 sedan available here) would be the only true competition and I think the CTS-V stands a good chance at beating any of them save the Panamera, I really haven't seen as much on it yet. That might honestly be the toughest competition with its high power and AWD.
Enigmatic 2:43PM (10/23/2009)
Whoa guys, didn't mean to touch a nerve. Not accusing GM of anything. It's smart really. Why would you host an even and invite media coverage if there was a chance you would lose? Imagine the press backlash on that one! Obviously a CTS-V with a competent driver would beat the Jaguar. Now if I saw them toss a Panamera in there, then that would be a challenge, but then again, the Panamera is priced way above the Cadillac.
And thipps, please read the article before posting (one of those things that people tend not to do on the net):
"THE FIVE VEHICLES CHOSEN BY GM TO TAKE ON THE CTS-V DON'T STAND MUCH OF CHANCE."
Enough said.
Not saying anything wrong with it, just saying they made so it would be in their favour. As they should (why would you do it otherwise?).
paul34 2:52PM (10/23/2009)
And even if a Panamera were present and beat the CTS-V by a few fractions of a second, the CTS-V is still far cheaper, both to purchase and to own.
Tourian 4:09PM (10/23/2009)
If they picked 5 cars that didn't have a chance at winning, why did those idiots even bother applying? Why wouldn't you bring your A-game to something like this? Or better yet, do you really think these are the 5 worst vehicles on the list? IF some troll entered his mom's '02 Camry, do you think GM would pick 5 entries like that to try ot make themselves look good? No, my guess is they picked 5 competent entries from people who could actually commit to showing up and running, but still be able to win against by a decent but not necessarily overwhelming margin.
Enigmatic 5:05PM (10/23/2009)
Well, you're kind of taking the most extreme implication of my statement. I'm just saying from the get-go we already know what the fastest car is gonna be (CTS-V), but from the article I gathered they're inviting automotive journalists (people who can actually report their loss to Lutz to a widespread audience). I doubt those journalists would show up in a Camry.
Danimal 1:41PM (10/23/2009)
I'm pumped. Though it is basically a GM press event I think it's being handled in a fair way, and it's not stacked in Cadillac's favor.
It's simply going to be a leaderboard situation and both John Heinricy and Bob Lutz will probably be posted on the board separately. So if you beat Bob's time great, but you haven't necessarily beaten the Cadillac until you've topped Heinricy.
This is exactly what Cadillac and all of GM need to do put their necks out and prove they have competitive if not better cars than it competitions.
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2buck 3:12PM (10/23/2009)
No way is this fair. Fair would be if they publicly published a list of cars that qualified well in advance so it could be scrutinized. Then choose a road course that is neutral, as opposed to one Lutz and company have been using since it opened. Lastly, since they are hand picking participants in a vacuum, there's no way of knowing which competitive (and superior) competitors are being turned down. The Panamera Turbo on a level playing field would clean house. M3s/M5s/RS6s with the right drivers could possibly do the same. This reeks.