Cadillac CTS-V: How Cadillac Put a Corvette Engine in a Sedan

Car and Driver's first drive called the CTS-V "the division's first dedicated high-performance model" and said "Cadillac has really wowed us this time." Wikipedia says the first-generation CTS was a $4 billion investment by GM in new styling, a new rear-drive platform and re-establishing "the brand's relevancy," and the production debut of the "Art and Science" design language. According to GM News, engineer Ken Morris first went to the Nürburgring in 1997 with a handful of colleagues and one production Cadillac, and in 1998 he came back with an early CTS prototype. The V got the LS6 V8 from the Z06 Corvette, rated at 400 horsepower, a Tremec six-speed manual with the guts of the Z06 gearbox, and Brembo brakes with four-piston calipers at all corners. In Car and Driver's November 2004 comparison test, it ran 0 to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds and the quarter mile in 13.2 seconds at 109 mph, and the C55 AMG finished behind it by one point. For 2006 it switched to the LS2 6.0-liter V8. An '04 with the LS6, an '06 with the LS2, or the next-generation supercharged V: which Cadillac goes in your garage? Tell us in the comments, and subscribe to Stories by the Shop Light for more of the real stories behind American performance. Chapters 0:00 Cold open: from Cimarron to 400 horsepower 0:34 Art, Science, and 600 Laps 1:31 The Formula 2:08 The Corvette Connection 3:39 Six Speeds, No Options 4:14 Stop, Turn, and Go 4:59 How Fast? 7:14 The Image Shift 8:05 Which Cadillac goes in your garage? / Season two Video image credits Photos via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY, CC BY-SA, CC0 and public domain), cropped, graded and animated, with text overlays added. Graphics: our own. Full photo credits in the pinned comment. Thumbnail: AI-generated image (Grok Imagine), made with reference to the photos "Cadillac CTS V (4551951239).jpg" by nakhon100 (CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...) and "1st Cadillac CTS-V -- 12-08-2009.jpg" by IFCAR (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons. The wheels are composited from nakhon100's photo (CC BY 2.0) and motion-blurred. Background blurred and darkened; text and channel emblem added.