With 640 horsepower (477 kW), 855 Nm of torque and top speed of 320 km/h, the Cadillac CTS-V reaches higher than its predecessors, leading the company’s product-driven expansion and elevation. It is the third generation of the acclaimed premium sports sedan that launched the elite V-Series a decade ago – and redefined Cadillac for a new generation of enthusiasts. The performance sedan is available in Europe, selling for prices starting at € 98,900.
Comprehensive updates make the new CTS-V essentially two cars in one: a premium sedan with sophisticated road manners and a track-capable sports car straight from the factory. It also introduces a new supercharged 6.2 L V-8 engine backed by Cadillac’s paddle-shift 8-speed automatic transmission, featuring launch control and “Performance Algorithm Shifting” (PAS). With this leading-edge powertrain, the new CTS-V is capable of 0-100 km/h performance in 3.7 seconds. Track-honed design, chassis and suspension elements complement the supercharged powertrain and elevate CTS-V’s capability, performance and driver control to new thresholds, while enabling track driving without modifications or special procedures.
Key performance technologies include:
- Standard carbon fiber hood and available carbon fiber vent, front splitter, rear spoiler and rear diffuser for greater aerodynamic performance
- Brembo high-performance brake system developed to provide durability, consistency and the capability for track-day performance straight from the factory
- Third-generation Magnetic Ride Control delivering 40-percent faster damping response
- Integrated chassis controls that provide balanced performance for touring and the track, including competition-spec Performance Traction Management
- Structural stiffness increased by 25 percent for improved ride and superior handling
- Driver-selectable modes electronically calibrate performance variables for touring, sport and track driving conditions
- Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires with tri-compound technology offering excellent grip with extended tire wear
- An interior with performance-oriented, sueded microfiber accents and matte-finish carbon fiber trim and available RECARO high-performance seats for spirited driving
- Advanced safety and parking technologies, including a front curb-view camera system that provides a visual cue of curbs to protect the front splitter; automatic parking assist to find and steer into parallel or perpendicular parking spots; side blind zone alert, forward collision alert, lane keep assist and rear cross traffic alert.
Additionally, the Performance Data Recorder (subject to country-specific availability) in the CTS-V allows drivers to record high-definition video, with data overlays, of their driving experiences on and off the track, enabling sharing on social media.
More powerful supercharged V-8 engine for the new Cadillac CTS-V
The force behind the new CTS-V’s capability is an all-new, more powerful 6.2 L supercharged V-8 engine that offers more output more efficiently than the previous Cadillac supercharged engine. It employs a more-efficient, more-compact 1.7 L supercharger and matches it with direct injection and Active Fuel Management (cylinder deactivation).
The CTS-V’s complementing 8-speed automatic is tuned for world-class shift-response times. Smaller steps between gears keep the engine within the sweet spot of the rpm band, making the most of the power of the supercharged engine for exhilarating performance and greater efficiency. The new 8L90 transmission offers full manual control via steering wheel paddles, and Performance Algorithm Shifting (PAS) to deliver shift performance that rivals the dual-clutch/semi-automatic transmissions found in many premium performance sedans – but with the smoothness and refinement that come with a conventional automatic fitted with a torque converter.
Enhanced body motion control for the sports sedan Cadillac CTS-V
The CTS’s structure is highly mass optimized and designed to meet higher performance requirements, with enhancements to the V-Series developed to respond to cornering and torque loads. The enhancements bolster structural stiffness by 25 percent over non-V models, for more precise handling and steering – and a more confident feel from a vehicle that conveys strength through exceptional solidity.
Track-honed chassis and suspension
The CTS-V shares the same 2,910 mm wheelbase as the CTS non-V-Series models, but has wider front and rear footprints that enhance grip, reduce body motion and contribute to more direct-feeling steering.
Nineteen-inch wheels wrapped with specially developed Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires give the CTS-V its footprint and enable nearly 1g in lateral acceleration. The lightweight, forged aluminum wheels – measuring 9.5 inches wide in the front and 10 inches wide in the rear – are constructed of a low-mass forging that helps reduce un-sprung weight for greater agility and a more direct feel to steering inputs.
In fact, the wheels are 45-percent stiffer than previous CTS-V wheels, while the Michelin tires feature a tri-compound tread that delivers excellent grip in performance driving situations, while offering excellent ride quality characteristics and extended tread wear.
Additional contributors to the CTS-V’s responsive, connected and track-capable driving experience include:
- A revised multi-link double-pivot MacPherson-strut front suspension delivers a quicker response and increased lateral control, incorporating “hydro” bushings, where traditional elastomeric bushings are replaced with zero-compliance cross-axis ball joints, higher-rate springs and a stiffer stabilizer bar – for 20-percent greater roll stiffness
- The ZF Steering Systems Servotronic II variable-ratio electric power steering gear, with 14-percent greater system stiffness for an improved feeling of precision and greater driver feedback
- Cadillac’s five-link rear suspension features reduced roll center migration, stronger lateral control and effective anti-squat geometry, complementing the front suspension with greater body motion control. Contributing components include stiffer bushings, new cradle mounts, higher-rate springs and a stiffer stabilizer bar
- A standard electronic limited-slip differential supports optimal traction and enables maximum corner exit acceleration
- Larger prop shafts and greater half-shaft asymmetry (stiffer driver’s side shaft) mitigate power hop during acceleration
- A Brembo performance brake system provides durability, consistency and the capability for track-day performance. The system includes two-piece 390 mm front rotors with staggered six-piston calipers and 365 mm rear rotors with four-piston calipers.
Also, the CTS-V features third-generation Magnetic Ride Control and Performance Traction Management. Four driver-selectable settings – Tour, Sport, Track and Snow – electronically calibrate performance variables to optimize the car for driving conditions. Performance Traction Management is offered in Track mode and features five settings of torque reduction and brake intervention for track driving. Magnetic Ride Control “reads” the road a thousand times per second, sending data to magneto-rheological fluid-filled dampers that can independently control the damping characteristics of all four dampers. Third-generation improvements enable 40-percent faster damping response. In fact, at 50 km/h, the third-generation magnetic ride control system calculates the optimal damping force for every centimeter of the road.
Performance-focused cabin inside the luxury sedan Cadillac CTS-V
The CTS-V’s dual-purpose capability carries over to the interior, where the design and relationship of key components are focused expressly on performance-driving ergonomics. The CTS-V features standard 20-way performance-oriented heated and ventilated front seats trimmed in semi-aniline leather, with sueded microfiber inserts and seatbacks. Available Recaro performance front seats deliver aggressive, adjustable bolsters that help hold the driver and front passenger in place during high-load cornering. They also have a luxury-performance feel, trimmed in Mulan leather with sueded microfiber inserts and seatbacks. The CTS-V features a unique version of the 12.3-inch instrument panel cluster display, with V-Series graphics and distinctive gauge readouts and complementing full-color, reconfigurable head-up display.
It is also equipped with the latest connectivity technologies from Cadillac:
- Cadillac User Experience (CUE) with Bluetooth connectivity with natural voice recognition
- Apple CarPlay enabling drivers using iPhones to make phone calls, receive messages or listen to music via the touch screen or Siri Eyes Free voice control
- Siri Eyes Free and text-to-voice that converts incoming text messages to speech and reads them over the audio system speakers
- Navigation with Bose Surround Sound audio
- Wireless inductive phone charging
The Performance Data Recorder is controlled via CUE’s color touch screen, and recordings can be reviewed on the screen when the vehicle is parked.
About US-american premium auto brand Cadillac
Cadillac has been a leading premium auto brand since 1902. Today Cadillac is growing globally, driven by an expanding product portfolio featuring distinctive design and technology. Its European line-up includes the ATS sedan and coupe, the CTS upper mid-size sedan, the ATS-V and CTS-V high performance versions, the CT6 full-size premium sedan, the XT5 premium crossover and in addition the Escalade, a full-size premium SUV.
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