Numbers …

By Chris

We’re nearing the end of our testing in advance of CTS-V production launch.
That means we’ve recently finalized some numbers. The SAE certified power
is 556 hp and 551 lb-ft of torque. After our recent sub eight-minute lap at
Nurburgring we also finalized some basic acceleration numbers. Zero to 60 mph is 3.9 seconds. We’re doing the quarter mile in 12.0 seconds.

More to come in the next few days, including new video of our latest track
tests.

Still Racing!

By Chris

One of the really nice things about CTS-V is that it has benefitted from a really good road racing program in recent years. Cadillac won two of the last three Manufacturer’s Championships in the SPEED World Challenge GT series. This is a terrific production-based road racing series operated by the SCCA, and it’s been a very good experience for Cadillac and helped influence and improve our “street” car quite a bit. The production CTS-V is of course on a one-year hiatus now as we prepare the all-new 2009 CTS-V that we’re working on now. Naturally, it was tempting for some to assume that this might mean the CTS-V would depart from racing. That is absolutely not the case – the CTS-V is back in SPEED World Challenge for 2008 under the management of the brand new Team Remington Cadillac.

Gisela, Arizona

By Chris

Ed’s post above on our first trip to Arizona refreshed a memory for me also. We ended this ride at Phoenix International Raceway. You’d think that would be the highlight of the trip, right? After all that’s a full-on professional track with an infield road course where we ran the cars pretty hard. But, actually the highlight might have been a much less famous place – Gisela. This very small town (pop. 532) in the mountains right in the center of the state has some great twisty, tight mountain roads around it. Awesome, in fact. So please don’t tell anyone. We don’t want it to become overrun with traffic!

Dispelling Rumors

By Chris

One of the fun things about finally getting out there in the auto shows is that some of the rumors can either be confirmed, or dispelled. Last year at the Nurburgring some eager photographers snapped a shot of the CTS-V, which happens frequently there. Some of the shots from a long-distance lens “caught” the car with the hood open. I remember we were just outside our garage for maybe 10 minutes, yet, those shots were taken and online quickly.

From these shots tons of web speculation ensued. Some folks surmised that the car would be AWD (they now know it is not.) Others wondered if it would be naturally aspirated (nope), supercharged (bingo!), or even turbocharged (not.) Well, now all of that can be put to rest. What helped continue the speculation a bit was that ‘Ring observers noticed that our car was running awfully fast. And the sound of the car was not really characteristic of a supercharger. Most auto experts would tell you they can hear a supercharger easily. . . not in our case, apparently. And that is by design. Quite a lot of focus was put into the details of the sound, which we should take a look into via subsequent posts. Stay tuned. . .

Form Meets Function in the CTS-V

By Chris

As Ed mentioned in the last post, any Cadillac has a lot of visual and design presence. In the case of CTS-V, a lot of those visual cues have a dual purposes – much of what you see in the photos of the car is as much functional as it is design oriented.

The grille is the most obvious case in point. I’m sure you’ve noticed how the face of the car differs from the CTS we sell today. The driving force for the new V-Series grille is as much functional as it is stylistic. The revised grille openings enable 100% more airflow – that’s twice as much air getting into the car, a gigantic difference. This is a major aspect of the car’s performance. We’re talking about a 550 hp car, as you probably know! That requires tremendous “cooling” capacity. Beyond just engine power, the airflow is also vital for the brake cooling we want to have for our big Brembo brakes, as well as cooling for all sorts of other systems in the car.