The Cadillac CTS-V is absolutely unlike any previous Cadillac. Until the CTS-V, Cadillacs had always been about luxury first and everything else second. Even when Cadillac was developing high-content technology like the Northstar V8, it was put at the service of comfort first. High performance? Not really Caddy's bag. Then someone at Cadillac decided to build a hot rod. And that's the Cadillac CTS-V.
Actually there was a good business case for building the Cadillac CTS-V hot rod. Cadillac's German-made competition has found great success selling their cars as "sport sedans" instead of mere luxury cars. And the leading edge of that German sport sedan image has been the cars coming from the manufacturers' in-house tuning operations — stunningly powerful machines that give substance to the image.
In a world where the definition of luxury machine now includes brilliant performance, Cadillac couldn't afford to stay out of the game. So for the 2004 model year, Cadillac took its year-old compact CTS sedan; crammed a 400-horsepower, 5.7-liter, LS6 V8 under the hood; hooked it up to a six-speed manual transmission; re-tuned the suspension; added 18-inch wheels and tires; re-decorated the cabin; super-fortified most everything else; and created the Cadillac CTS-V.
That first Cadillac CTS-V shattered perceptions about what a Cadillac could be. Suddenly here was a Caddy that actually demanded the person behind the wheel drive the car. This wasn't a rolling sensor deprivation chamber, but a hard-core assault on every sense and sensibility. And it was stinky rotten fast. The Cadillac CTS-V had instant performance credibility.
The second Cadillac CTS-V appeared for 2009 with a new supercharged, 6.2-liter, LSA V8 under its hood making a civilization-rattling 556 hp. It was offered hooked to either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission with word from Cadillac that the shiftable automatic was the killer setup. Vogue whitewalls and a landau top were not on the options list. The second Cadillac CTS-V was fast enough to rip the skins off the German competition.
Today the Cadillac CTS-V isn't just a surprising Cadillac; it's one of the world's great performance sedans.
