Friday, April 3, 2009

Fastest four-doors on wheels - the Cadillac CTS-V


The idea behind the Cadillac CTS-V is pretty simple: Be the fastest four-door car in the world.
We haven't driven every four-door car in the world, so we can't say whether this objective has been attained.
But we have, fortunately, driven the CTS-V.
And it is fast, very fast. 
Probably the fastest four-door car we've ever driven.
The car came from Cadillac's Spec-V performance group, which creates products to compete with cars such as the BMW M cars, the Lexus F series and Mercedes-Benz's AMG products.
The performance of the CTS-V is motivated by the colossal 6.2-liter V-8 engine. 
Regular CTS's, which are very nice cars in their own rights, get a V-6.
This V-8 is more refined than the dual-overhead cam engines that are in other Caddies.
It is more akin to the powerplant in the Corvette.
So how powerful is it?
How about 556 horsepower.
That means it's the most powerful Caddy ever.
And Caddy says that horsepower beats some high-level competitors such as the Audi RS4, BMW M3, Lexus IS F and Mercedes C63 AMG.
The CTS-V comes with either a six-speed manual transmission or a six-speed automatic with paddle shifters.
It comes with rear-wheel drive only, not all-wheel, which the regular CTS has.
But gladly, the CTS-V retains all the design stylings that make the CTS such a beauty.
The front grille is larger, the hood is raised with a dome over the engine and the standard rims are 19 inches.
So the CTS-V looks a little more aggressive, but still like a classy Caddy.
Caddy says the CTS-V has a top speed of 175 mph, and goes from 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds.
How much will you pay for all that power?
The CTS-V's base price is $57,920.
Our well-equipped tester came in close to $70,000.
That might be a lot of dollars, but we're talking a lot of speed, a lot of style and a lot of fun.
 


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