We all have opinions. Everybody is their own expert critic, especially when it comes to cars. Today, we got some news from the most important "experts" of all -- real new car and truck buyers who have spent real money! AutoPacific's study of 2008 model new vehicle satisfaction is out. And we are really pleased.
Read all about it over on FastLane.
By Ed
We just came back from Germany. As promised, here's the video of John Heinricy's sub-8 minute lap of the Nurburgring's Nordschleife.
To clarify, the car had no performance or operational modifications outside of what we intend to offer in production. We did have a couple of customary safety precautions, as the first goal of our testing is always to keep drivers like John safe. The car had a harness bar upon which a 6-way racing safety belt system was mounted. We also had a fire supression unit on board. These things add a little bit of weight to the car, certainly not helping performance any. Stock tires, too.
We had a chance to mount some cameras on the car and had the benefit of a beautiful day. Enjoy.
Last week, we told you about the 2009 CTS-V's searing lap time at Germany's famous Nurburgring test track. Here are a couple of photos of GM Performance Division executive - and racing driver - John Heinricy taking the CTS-V through it's sub-eight-minute lap around the Nordschleife -- believed to be the fastest ever by a production sedan. - Will Stewart, blog editor
By Ed
In testing today 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 for the highly anticipated CTS- V , the limited-edition high-performance model based on the award-winning CTS sport sedan. John Heinricy, executive with GM Performance Division 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 horsepower, 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 here in the coming days. Stay tuned.
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.
Here's a shot from the wrap-up of our winter tests. While we're not shooting for the type of traction of an AWD car, we do want the V-Series to be capable across a range of conditions a bit wider than your typical high-performance car.
These are important tests for dialing in our chassis controls (e.g. Stabilitrak.) And, by our fairly low amateur photography standards, this was very nicely shot by one of our chassis engineers (Thank you, Chuck!)
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