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2009 Cadillac CTS-V Outruns the BMW M3 and M5 at the Ring
CTS-V breaks eight-minute lap time on the Nürburgring.

BY ALISA PRIDDLE
May 2008

The CTS represents the resurgence of Cadillac and the 2009 CTS-V is
GM’s blatant attempt to produce the fastest sedan in the world. So
we’re guessing the guys at Cadillac are ecstatic that the sedan has
broken the eight-minute barrier on the famed Nürburgring in what might
in fact be the fastest documented lap time for a production sedan. It
beats a pair of BMWs: the BMW M5 clocks in at eight minutes and 13
seconds and the M3 is listed at 8:15.

A CTS-V has posted a lap time of 7:59.32 as Cadillac nears the end of
testing and development as the company prepares to start producing the
limited-edition 2009 performance sedan in the fall. Breaking the eight-
minute mark is usually the exclusive domain of the exotics. That this
sedan joins such an exclusive club is a testament to its supercharged
and intercooled 6.2-liter V-8 known as the LSA, closely related to the
LS9 engine found in the Corvette ZR1.

GM has not yet released the car’s official SAE power ratings,
acceleration figures, or pricing. The automaker has us expecting 550
horsepower at 6200 rpm and 550 pound-feet of torque at 4000 rpm. But
GM created a stir when the official numbers for the Corvette ZR1 came
out as 638 hp and 604 lb-ft of torque when we were expecting 620 hp
and 600 lb-ft. Any similarly pleasant surprises for the CTS-V would be
fine by us.

For the benchmark Ring run, professional driver and director of
vehicle integration John Heinricy was behind the wheel. GM says the
car had no performance modifications beyond what will be available to
consumers.

To see the car on the Nordschleife, go here. GM is promising footage
in the next few days.

Full article:
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/car_shopping/latest_news_reviews/2009_cadillac_cts_v_outruns_the_bmw_m3_and_m5_at_the_ring_car_news