2009 Cadillac CTS-V

Driving through the backroads of semi-upstate New York, you begin to think that Deliverance was not filmed in the forests of Georgia, but instead, right here in an area that is probably two hours outside of New York City. We are cruising along the two-lane highways, past the Orange County Choppers factory/showroom of Paul, Paul Jr., and Mikey fame. Past firetraps masquerading as strip joints, to Monticello Motor Club. The most common vehicle around happens to be the high-riding F-150 pick-up truck with Yosemite Sam mud flaps. It’s a great drive with challenging roads. And a warning sign that has a bra hanging over it.
We are in the new 2009 Cadillac CTS-V. Not your father’s Caddy, nor that of rich Uncle Buck either, it is the ballsiest piece of sheetmetal to wear the Cadillac crest. The General has rented the club—sort of like a country club for wealthy gearheads, to give auto journalists a chance to thrash away at the latest offerings from the Milford Proving Grounds in suburban Detroit.
The CTS-V is the version 2.0 follow-up to the CTS-V that was based on the previous generation CTS. This one features a whole new set of cool bits that elevate the “V” to the level of “corporate badass.”
Logical competitors and benchmarks include the BMW M5, Audi S6, Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, and the like. It has been a constant game of one-upmanship for the past five or six years and that’s a game of which we really enjoy being a beneficiary.
Numerous. In addition to the LSA Supercharged V8, which we’ll get to in due course, the CTS-V now features Magnetic Ride Control, which Cadillac claims is the “world’s fastest-reacting suspension technology,” to using electro-magnets to control the shocks, which help to speed up the response time. Sensors constantly “read” the road, making constant adjustments of the suspension system to give more precise control of body motions.
Peel back a few more layers and you’ll find not so much a breakthrough, as a reason to build up the muscles in your right arm. A new six-speed manual transmission, this one by Tremec, is now available, along with a Hydra-Matic 6L90 six-speed automatic with paddle shift buttons. And Brembos. And Recaros. And Michelins. And more. It reads like a Who’s Who of performance goodies.
Like a sharply creased sedan with a purpose. We love the profile of the new CTS and the V just carries it along and then some. Perhaps borrowing inspiration from Mercedes-Benz’s placement of their trademark star in the center of the grille on their high performance cars, Cadillac has chosen to place the Crest in the center of the mesh-covered front end. But it does look like it is bigger! A power-bulge on the hood gives added clearance for the Eaton blower underneath. Returning are the side gills on either side of the fender. New CTS-V badging on the driver and passenger doors let the residents of the gated communities know this is not the CTS that takes them to the hair salon or the local Saks Fifth Avenue. The ultra swept back C-pillar provides a nice counterpoint to the wedge-shaped side cladding which leads to a rear end with high-mount brake light that doubles as a rear spoiler.
A blending of performance and luxury, you could say that if there was a four-door version of the Corvette, this is what its interior should look like. With a choice of standard performance seats or available Recaro sport seats, with adjustable side-bolsters, everybody sits just fine.
Hand stitching on the instrument and door panels as well as the center console gives the appearance of a designer interior in a performance car. Almost a “what’s wrong with this picture” moment. But in reality, there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s a welcomed addition.
The pop up monitor from the original CTS introduced a year ago makes a reappearance as the heart of the controls in the new “V.” Our concerns from that time had us questioning the intelligence of mounting a monitor with electric motor that pops up and down during subsequent operations. Our concerns appear to be unfounded. Gauges are well laid out in the instrument panel binnacle, and redundant controls abound all over the steering wheel. As do the transmission shifting buttons located on the wheel’s backside. We much prefer paddle shift levers rather than the nondescript push buttons on the V’s wheel. Generally, we think the interior and especially the center-stack is well laid-out, although at times it verges on busy.
Like a charging rhino. The first thing you notice is the whine of the Eaton twin-screw, four-lobe rotor supercharger. Hearing it spool up is music to any enthusiast’s ears, until it kicks you back into the nicely bolstered sport seats, and then it sounds even better. With an intercooler perched above it and aluminum alloy heads to fight excess engine heat, it is an engine that has been tuned to provide plenty of low end grunt as well as maintaining horsepower at the high end of the RPM range, in an area that tends to bleed off the horsepower produced by the superchargers. It works.
Producing 556-horsepower and 551 lb-ft of torque, the 6.2-liter LSA engine is a de-tuned version of the powerplant poking through the hood of the new ZR1 Corvettte. It is also a heavily cladded piece of art. Observing a demonstration model of the engine, sans cladding, it is a look that doesn’t need to be covered up by some lame piece of plastic with Cadillac badges all over it. We understand that there are no user-serviceable parts under the cover, but we are still curious how Audi is able to build an engine as beautifully as they do in their RS4, and still manage to keep it uncovered, to be admired.
Zero-60 mph clicks off at 3.9-seconds, while the quarter mile is achieved in 12-seconds, flat, at 118 mph. Let’s repeat: Zero-60 mph clicks off at 3.9-seconds, while the quarter mile is achieved in 12-seconds, flat, at 118 mph. Mileage, by the way, has yet to be determined. But at this point, does it matter?
The six-speed Tremec made for smooth shifting throughout the 4.2-mile road course at Monticello. Running up the back straight, which used to be the main runway of the Monticello airport, the GM small block wanted to keep going and going until the kink on the track appeared over the ridge. Squeezing the Brembo six-pot calipers in front and the four-pots in the rear, clamped the slotted and vented rotors, which helped to settle the CTS-V before its next sweeping right-hander.
Switching over to the six-speed Hydra-Matic gearbox, incidentally the first time an automatic has been available on the CTS-V, showed a transmission that was able to perform as seamlessly as possible on surface streets, yet still be able to stretch its legs on the highway or the race track. Switching gates on the automatic put the shift lever in the sport mode, effectively remapping engine shift points for quicker shifts and faster acceleration. With all the power on tap, Cadillac beefed up the limited slip differential and prop shaft for extra durability during extreme loads. The 4,200-pound (4,300 with the automatic) “V” rides on 19-inch Michelin PS2 Z-rated tires (255/40 up front and 285/35 out back) specifically designed for the car.
Handling is improved over the last model by use of the Magnetic Ride Control (MRC) in conjunction with the CTS-V’s multi-link independent rear suspension. A fast-reacting technology, it relies on shocks controlled by electro-magnet, rather than mechanical valves. The result is a faster response time because sensors at all four wheels are reading the road every millisecond causing different damping rates at a constant pace. Controlling the CTS-V in either Touring or Sport mode, MRC was first seen on the Cadillac STS, it has been utilized on several high performance European sleds as well as the Corvette.
As it sits, don’t expect to see many CTS-Vs parked inside Century Village. Pick up one, though, and you can be assured that there won’t be many others on the road that will be able to keep up with it. After all, this is the same car that lapped a circuit of the Nordschleife portion of the Nürburgring in under eight minutes (7:59:32) making it the fastest documented time for a production sedan.
Expected to hit market in the high $60,000s, it’s a bargain that can transport five comfortably and still run on track day at your local racetrack.
Pricing has yet to be determined for the 2009 Cadillac CTS-V.