2016 Cadillac CTS-V drive review: World’s best sports sedan?
July 31, 2015
Think of the newest Cadillac supersedan as a four-door Corvette
Think of the CTS-V as a more practical Corvette Z06, one with four doors.
You already know the bare bones about this car: the same 6.2-liter supercharged V8 as the Corvette Z06 (minus the dry sump lubrication), making 640 SAE-certified hp and 630 SAE-certified lb-ft of torque sent to the rear wheels through a Hydramatic 8L90 eight-speed automatic and an electronic limited-slip diff; magnetic ride control at all four corners; ZF electric power steering that varies the level of assist depending on demand and conditions; traction control with more settings than a bridal registry; and a nice Cadillac-designed exterior that won’t be mistaken for anything else on Earth.
What’s It Like To Drive?
Oh man.
First of all, look at the numbers: 0-60 in 3.7 seconds (good!), quarter mile in 11.6 seconds at 126 mph (very good!), 1.00 g lateral acceleration (outstanding!) , top speed 200 mph (whaaaaa???).
This thing will go 200 mph right out the showroom door… 201.8 to be exact, which is what Cadillac engineer Brian Wallace did at the Transportation Research Center in Ohio. All for a sticker price of $84,990. If you went just by those numbers alone, the coming CTS-V outshines the competitors in almost every category. If you go by all the parameters that make a car a success, the CTS-V might win there, too.
To show us how all that performance potential stacked up on the road, Cadillac took us to Road America, a horsepower track if ever there was one, and horsepower is what this car has in spades, as well as deuces, clubs and whatever else they measure horsepower in. Our first session behind the wheel came, not at the track, but on the road to Road America, a wide Interstate nearly devoid of traffic, except for a couple trucks and a few citizen sedans all cowed into submission by what was no doubt draconian enforcement of the ridiculous speed laws in this state (55 mph???). We got our chance way out in the middle of corn- and dairy farm paradise when our co-driver pulled off the Interstate for the driver swap. We slithered into the tightly bolstered bucket seat, cinched-down the seat belt and stared ahead. We had to cross a road perpendicular to the Interstate then go down the onramp and back up to the highway. The road might have been a little bumpy, too. So naturally we disabled all traction assistance and floored the thing.
Yow! This car has 640 hp all right, and it felt like we were putting every single one of them down to the pavement right then and there. The rear end wandered around a little with all that power, almost scarily, as we briefly contemplated being known forever as, “Oh yeah, that idiot who wiped out the first CTS-V.” But a little counter steering — without lifting — and some barely noticeable assist from the active traction control kept it in line and off we whooshed, down the onramp at what felt like about Warp Factor 6. This is no ordinary domestic performance sedan.
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