Cadillac ATS-V Races Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, Pulls Off Rocky vs. Drago-Level Upset

This underdog philosophy can easily apply to the car industry too, be it during a motorsport event like a Grand Prix or even a quarter mile drag race. All you need is the right ingredients, which we definitely have here in this video, starring a Cadillac ATS-V.

The ATS-V used to be GM’s BMW M3 rival, before they started making the CT4-V Blackwing, and you could have it either as a four-door sedan or a two-door coupe. Both variants were powered by the same 3.6-liter twin turbocharged V6 engine, producing 464 hp (470 ps) and 445 lb-ft (603 Nm) of torque.

We’re here to talk about the sedan, which used to be and still is plenty quick. On paper, this sporty Caddy can get you from zero to 60 mph (97 kph) in just 3.7 seconds, before maxing you out at 189 mph (304 kph), which you should not be attempting, not even on the German autobahn.

Now, if we’re talking about quarter mile runs, you generally want to see the ATS-V taking on something like the M3 or an AMG-spec C-Class. What you don’t want is to line up alongside a Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat in your ATS-V, because that’s a completely different beast.

Even though it’s considerably heavier, the Charger Hellcat still has the upper hand thanks to its 6.2-liter supercharged HEMI V8, which nowadays pumps out 717 hp (used to be 707 hp) and 650 lb-ft (880 Nm) of torque. Nine times out of ten, the Caddy wouldn’t stand a chance.

Here though, we suspect this ATS-V had one or two tiny mods working in its favor, which would explain how it managed to beat the Hellcat over a quarter mile at Speed World, in Orlando, Florida It then went on to beat a Tesla Model 3, plus another Hellcat (a Challenger that time). Impressive stuff.