Photo: Cadillac
Remember 2004? That’s the year the Spirit rover landed on Mars, a man called Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook from his Harvard dormitory, and Ireland banned smoking in restaurants and bars. 2004 also marks the beginning of the V-Series, and Cadillac is much obliged to remind us the CTS-V was first.
Underpinned by the Sigma platform, the first generation of the performance sedan was offered with the LS6 and LS2 small-block V8 engine options. Better still, a Tremec T56 linked the fury under the hood to the rear wheels, translating to lots of fun for the most spirited of drivers.
The second generation leveled up to the 6.2-liter LSA with a supercharger and the option of a six-speed automatic, producing 556 ponies at the crankshaft. Fast-forward to 2015, and that’s when the third generation showed up with the LT4 from the Corvette Z06. It’s the most powerful Cadillac ever, but on the other hand, Cadillac discontinued the CTS-V. That's right; 2019 is the final model year for the performance-oriented luxury sedan.
Typical of General Motors, the engineers and bean counters made a mess out of the CT5-V. A 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 provides suck-squeeze-bang-blow to either the rear wheels or all wheels, rated at 355 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. That’s a lot less than the CTS-V, and not enough performance credentials to keep up with BMW and Mercedes-AMG.
Even Audi has a more powerful competitor in the segment, and the RS6 prepares to get even better thanks to the MLB Evo vehicle architecture the Volkswagen Group utilizes in the Lamborghini Urus. Turning our attention back to Cadillac and the V-Series anniversary, the STS-V and XLR-V weren’t all that special. But the CTS-V Sport Wagon certainly was!
Only 1,764 longroofs were ever produced for the second generation of the mid-size model, packing 556 horsepower. During that era, the Mercedes-Benz E63 T-Modell with the AMG Performance Package had 518 horsepower.
“V-Series is a philosophy as much as the unique components comprising each variant,” declared Brandon Vivian, executive chief engineer at Cadillac. “That means the various V-Series models offer distinctive driving experiences, but always distilled through Cadillac’s unique perspective on spirited performance.”
The CT6-V is the most powerful Cadillac from the modern era, switching from a supercharged V8 to a twin-turbocharged V8. The Blackwing develops 550 horsepower in this application, and we’re disappointed once again considering the pushrod-style engine of the CTS-V is more potent.
On that note, there’s no denying the crown jewel of General Motors has been slacking in the go-faster department. Such wow, very anniversary!
The second generation leveled up to the 6.2-liter LSA with a supercharger and the option of a six-speed automatic, producing 556 ponies at the crankshaft. Fast-forward to 2015, and that’s when the third generation showed up with the LT4 from the Corvette Z06. It’s the most powerful Cadillac ever, but on the other hand, Cadillac discontinued the CTS-V. That's right; 2019 is the final model year for the performance-oriented luxury sedan.
Typical of General Motors, the engineers and bean counters made a mess out of the CT5-V. A 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 provides suck-squeeze-bang-blow to either the rear wheels or all wheels, rated at 355 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. That’s a lot less than the CTS-V, and not enough performance credentials to keep up with BMW and Mercedes-AMG.
Even Audi has a more powerful competitor in the segment, and the RS6 prepares to get even better thanks to the MLB Evo vehicle architecture the Volkswagen Group utilizes in the Lamborghini Urus. Turning our attention back to Cadillac and the V-Series anniversary, the STS-V and XLR-V weren’t all that special. But the CTS-V Sport Wagon certainly was!
Only 1,764 longroofs were ever produced for the second generation of the mid-size model, packing 556 horsepower. During that era, the Mercedes-Benz E63 T-Modell with the AMG Performance Package had 518 horsepower.
“V-Series is a philosophy as much as the unique components comprising each variant,” declared Brandon Vivian, executive chief engineer at Cadillac. “That means the various V-Series models offer distinctive driving experiences, but always distilled through Cadillac’s unique perspective on spirited performance.”
The CT6-V is the most powerful Cadillac from the modern era, switching from a supercharged V8 to a twin-turbocharged V8. The Blackwing develops 550 horsepower in this application, and we’re disappointed once again considering the pushrod-style engine of the CTS-V is more potent.
On that note, there’s no denying the crown jewel of General Motors has been slacking in the go-faster department. Such wow, very anniversary!
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