Category Archives: CTS-V

Clarkson on the 2009 Cadillac CTS-V: buy it and blast through the recession

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Someone at the Times of London has written a meandering but fundmentally positive review of the new Cadillac CTS-V and then signed Jeremy Clarkson’s name to it.  Jeremy Clarkson is an English Broadcaster, and one of three presenters of the British television show Top Gear.  Apparently he also writes for the Times.

Someone is in trouble.  Top Gear is a fun watch, and has a lot of character built up in the show.  They have great traditions on how they test cars and how they discuss them, so that the audience knows more or less what to expect at each step.  One of the things we have come to expect is that American cars will be pilloried by the program.

I liken it to a story I once heard of two brothers.  The older brother was a good sort.  The younger brother however was a natural athlete, quite good looking, someone who seemed to lead a bit of a charmed life.   The older brother missed no chance to suggest that the younger was perhaps a bit simpleminded, or stupid.  It was not true, but he was left with no other areas he COULD compete, you see.  The US and UK are great friends and allies, and especially these days we’re all in this together.  But I think someone with a heady sense of history and wistful for another time when Britain ‘ruled the world’ has little other way to compete than to suggest that Americans are somehow less cultured or more boorish.

Anyway, back on topic!  Here are some key descriptions of the CTS-V from the article by vehicle area:
The interior is a nice place to be.
The exterior is a good looking car.
It sounds more refined than an AMG.

So make no mistake: financially, the Cadillac smashes the M5, completely and utterly.
And here’s the next part. Round the Nürburgring, it smashes it again

First the markets go upside down, now Clarkson LIKES an AMERICAN car? I am losing my grip on how things are supposed to be.  I am not complaining, I am just stunned.  The entire Cadillac CTS-V release is very much that way though — this car is just BETTER than I expected.

The Clarksometer You’d be mad to buy anything else

[Speechless]

We can make it BETTER than it was — FASTER

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GM High-Tech Performance Magazine has very detailed coverage of the Katech Performance engine build for the Cadillac CTS-VR.  What is a CTS-VR?  The VR is the Cadillac CTS-V variant that competes in the SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT Racing Series.  Remington Racing runs the previously factory effort with the same factory drivers and cars.

Katech takes a stock, standard LS2 engine as used in the 06-07 CTS-V, and blueprints it for use in the racing car.  Blueprinting is the process of checking every tolerance in the engine and selecting values which favor performance.  So they basically take the engine apart and assume NOTHING.  Everything gets checked, and remanufactured if needed to the optimal values.

The result is an optimal but still technically stock engine.  The production CTS-V LS2 is rated at 400hp.  The LS2 engine once Katech is done makes over 500hp with a 40% restrictor plate on the intake.  Gotta love that.  As usual, great article by GM High-Tech Performance Magazine with lots of photos and details so be sure to check it out.

It will be interesting to see if Cadillac is able to race the new supercharged 2009 CTS-V in the series.

Cadillac CTS-V gets a German Price

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from die-topnews.de via babelfish: (sorry, I do not speak or read German so computer translated):

Cadillac will be the flagship CTS-series for a price from 74 990 euros to the German market. Driven is the CTS-V from a 6162 cubic centimeters large V8 petrol, thanks compressor supercharging 415 kW / 564 hp at 6100 min-1 in 3800 and provides tours 747 Newton meters torque developed. The CTS-V is available with six-speed manual or automatic six stages available.

The CTS-V completes the sprint from 0 to 100 km / h in 4.2 seconds, the tunneling version with manual transmission ends at 308 km / h. The top model of the CTS-range facilities include the latest generation of “Magnetic Ride Control, the world’s fastest electronic shock absorber system.

Heated and air conditioned Recaro sport seats with electric 8-way adjustment and adjustable lumbar support are four standard here. The seats are leather and have inserts made of perforated suede, which is also on the steering wheel and gearshift again. On board are also theft protection system, tire pressure monitoring system and aluminum sport pedals. The CTS-V rolls on 19-inch Aluräder in Ten-spoke design (optional finish), with the tires of the dimension 255/40 ZR 19 front and 285/35 ZR 19 are equipped. The infotainment system, which has an 8-inch color touch screen features include GPS navigation and audio system with 40-gigabyte hard drive and MP3 player connection and Bose 5.1 Cabin Surround with ten loudspeakers.

The CTS-V is now available at Cadillac dealers will be ordered. The purchase price includes a warranty of three years or 100 000 kilometers.

The web is still quietly awaiting pricing information from Cadillac for the US Spec CTS-V. Conventional wisdom is that it will start at $60K or under.