Cadillac CT4-V Drag Races CT5-V, the Gap Is Large

These are based on brand new sedans. And while they wear the letter V, you won't find a fire-breathing V8 engine under the hood. Without that, it's just not a special experience.

Despite these being some of the most American sedans of all time, the first drag race between the CT4-V and CT5-V comes from the Middle East. More specifically, the YouTube channel ArabGT had access to the pair of 2021 models and a long stretch of racetrack.

Since these aren't powered by some famous LS, some introductory specs are in order. Starting with the Cadillac CT4-V, this is powered by a 2.7-liter turbocharged inline-4 with 325 horsepower and 380 Nm of torque. The Hydra-Matic 10-speed takes care of automatic gear shifting.

Meanwhile, the bigger CT5-V uses a 3.0-liter, which is a V6 with twin turbochargers and 360 horsepower, also matched to a 10-speed. With 0 to 60 times of just under 5 seconds, these are not exactly drag racing heroes. But we're here to find out which is fastest, not shame Cadillac.

On paper, the two appear pretty close - 35 hp difference and 0.2 of a second to 60 mph in favor of the CT5-V. But the actual drag race proves V6 engines are generally better than four-cylinder ones, as the gap between the sedans continues to grow until the finish line. It seems even worse in the case of the rolling race.

So twin-turbo V6s are good, but V8s are even better. And while GM wants to play around with smaller displacements or twin-turbos, America deserves a Cadillac that can take on the Hellcat. That's the kind of drag race we want, and to hell with fuel economy or refinement for once.