‘Blistering’ Cadillac tackles Nurburgring

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CADILLAC’S upcoming 2009 CTS-V has completed a lap of the legendary Nordschleife track at Germany’s Nurburgring in 7min 59.32sec. This blistering time appears to be the fastest ever publicly documented for a production saloon.

Cadillac is nearing the completion of testing for the CTS-V, the limited-edition high-performance model based on the award-winning CTS sport saloon.

John Heinricy, director of vehicle integration and an acclaimed racing driver, piloted the CTS-V through its sub-eight-minute lap. The car had no performance modifications outside of those planned for consumer production, which is scheduled to begin this autumn.

Estimated at 550bhp, the CTS-V is going through the final stages of intensive testing and development.

The eight-minute mark has long been recognised as a major Nurburgring milestone reserved for race cars and high-performance sports cars.

The new 2009 CTS-V includes a suite of advanced performance technologies, including a new version of Cadillac’s acclaimed Magnetic Ride Control suspension and the LSA 6.2-litre supercharged V8 engine. For the first time, CTS-V will include the choice of six-speed manual or automatic transmissions, with the new automatic sporting steering wheel-mounted shift buttons.