What Is It?
2005 Cadillac STS-V
What's Special About It?
To quote Goose from the cinematic classic Mad Max, "It's the blower, man! The blower!"
To create the STS-V, the hot rod version of its STS sedan, Cadillac has bolted an Eaton Roots-type supercharger to the top of its Northstar V8 to create the most powerful Cadillac engine ever.
OK, Caddy didn't just bolt the blower on, first its engineers redesigned every major component of the Northstar engine, reduced the engine's displacement from 4.6 liters to 4.4 liters and dialed back its compression ratio to a more boost-friendly 9.0 to 1.
Then they engineered and patented a unique induction system. The air enters the supercharger from the rear, passes through its spinning vanes from the bottom, is cooled by a top-mounted intercooler and then does a complete 180 before heading down the long runners of the intake manifold. It all fits neatly under the STS-V's bulging hood, makes 10-12 pounds of boost and cranks horsepower from 320 to a mouthwatering 440.
According to Greg Prior, chief product manager on the engine, his creation is conservatively rated and has enough grunt to blast the STS-V from zero to 60 mph in under 5 seconds.
A six-speed automatic transmission with a manual sequential shift feature transfers that power to the Cad's 19-inch six-lug rear wheels and fat Pirelli tires. The brakes are from Brembo, just like on a Ferrari. The front rotors measure 14 inches in diameter, and the rears are a humongous 14.3 inches.
Small trim touches like aluminum accents on the steering wheel and instrument bezels are as radical as the STS-V gets on the inside. Every luxury we can think of is standard, as they should be for $75,000, and the seats have additional bolsters and suede inserts to hold you in place when you're driving immaturely.
On the outside there's no missing the tasteful metal mesh grilles and the deeper front spoiler, but we wish Caddy hadn't glued that ducktail to the deck lid. It's right out of the Pontiac's 1985 playbook and has no place on a real world-class sedan.
What's Edmunds' Take?
This is the car we've been begging Cadillac for since Ronald Reagan hit the White House. But it might just be too little too late. The E55 offered by Mercedes-Benz is up to 493 hp, and the new V10-powered BMW M5 has 507 ponies. Caddy has found the field, and it's in the game, but it's still playing catch-up. — Scott Oldham
2005 Cadillac STS-V
What's Special About It?
To quote Goose from the cinematic classic Mad Max, "It's the blower, man! The blower!"
To create the STS-V, the hot rod version of its STS sedan, Cadillac has bolted an Eaton Roots-type supercharger to the top of its Northstar V8 to create the most powerful Cadillac engine ever.
OK, Caddy didn't just bolt the blower on, first its engineers redesigned every major component of the Northstar engine, reduced the engine's displacement from 4.6 liters to 4.4 liters and dialed back its compression ratio to a more boost-friendly 9.0 to 1.
Then they engineered and patented a unique induction system. The air enters the supercharger from the rear, passes through its spinning vanes from the bottom, is cooled by a top-mounted intercooler and then does a complete 180 before heading down the long runners of the intake manifold. It all fits neatly under the STS-V's bulging hood, makes 10-12 pounds of boost and cranks horsepower from 320 to a mouthwatering 440.
According to Greg Prior, chief product manager on the engine, his creation is conservatively rated and has enough grunt to blast the STS-V from zero to 60 mph in under 5 seconds.
A six-speed automatic transmission with a manual sequential shift feature transfers that power to the Cad's 19-inch six-lug rear wheels and fat Pirelli tires. The brakes are from Brembo, just like on a Ferrari. The front rotors measure 14 inches in diameter, and the rears are a humongous 14.3 inches.
Small trim touches like aluminum accents on the steering wheel and instrument bezels are as radical as the STS-V gets on the inside. Every luxury we can think of is standard, as they should be for $75,000, and the seats have additional bolsters and suede inserts to hold you in place when you're driving immaturely.
On the outside there's no missing the tasteful metal mesh grilles and the deeper front spoiler, but we wish Caddy hadn't glued that ducktail to the deck lid. It's right out of the Pontiac's 1985 playbook and has no place on a real world-class sedan.
What's Edmunds' Take?
This is the car we've been begging Cadillac for since Ronald Reagan hit the White House. But it might just be too little too late. The E55 offered by Mercedes-Benz is up to 493 hp, and the new V10-powered BMW M5 has 507 ponies. Caddy has found the field, and it's in the game, but it's still playing catch-up. — Scott Oldham
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