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GM unveils its powerful Cadillac 2009 CTS-V
By Joseph Szczesny, Journal Register News Service
PUBLISHED: January 24, 2008
The 2009 CTS-V already is being billed as the most powerful Cadillac ever built by General Motors, which will unveil the car for the first time at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
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Sam Winegarden, chief engineer from the Pontiac-based GM Powertrain Group, said the redesigned, high-performance LSA engine is something of a landmark for the Cadillac engine.
"It's the most powerful engine in Cadillac's history," he said.
The supercharged, 6.2 V8 engine is rated at 550 horsepower and could go over 600 horsepower when GM's engineers finally are finished tweaking the motor and the car reaches the showroom later this year, GM officials said.
"As far as we're concerned, the horsepower race can keep going," said Tom Stephens, the executive in charge of the Powertrain Group.
"We also spent a lot of time on the transmission," to make sure it matched up with the engine," said Winegarden, who said the car can be ordered with an automatic or manual transmission.
The automatic transmission also is equipped with a paddle shifter similar to those found on a Formula 1 race car.
"We wanted the engine to be able to perform," he said.
The CTS-V is an integral part of GM's effort to allow Cadillac to challenge the likes of BMW and Mercedes-Benz around the world. In fact, the challenge for GM engineers was to build an engine that matched up performance-wise with V-10 built by BMW, which came away with more than a half-dozen different "Engine of the Year Awards" three years ago.
Expectations are the CTS-V and big engine will be exported from Lansing, where it is built, to places like China, Russia, the Middle East and Western Europe, where GM is fighting to establish new footholds for its luxury brand.
Jim Taylor, Cadillac's general manager, was given the job of turning Cadillac into a true global brand. He said GM engineers spent hours on the test track preparing for its debut. To earn a V-series designation, a car has to go from zero to 60 mph in less than five seconds and is outfitted with the very latest in luxury features.
"The CTS-V represents the full extension of our design, technology and performance capabilities," Taylor said. "The V-Series takes the award-winning CTS sports sedan and elevates it to a position within the club of the world's most exclusive and capable sports cars."
The car also features what GM engineers described as the world's fastest reacting suspension, a performance traction management system, Brembo brakes and Michelin tires on its 19-inch wheels.
The redesigned Cadillac CTS chassis also has earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's Top Safety Pick award for 2008.
The CTS is one of only three large luxury cars to earn the designation this year. The others are the Audi A6 and the Volvo S80. Winners of Top Safety Pick afford superior overall crash protection among the vehicles in their class. To qualify, a vehicle must earn the highest rating of good in the institute's front, side and rear tests and be equipped with electronic stability control.
"Criteria to win are tough because the award is intended to drive continued safety improvements such as top crash test ratings and rapid addition of electronic stability control, which is standard equipment on the CTS," Institute President Adrian Lund said.
"Recognizing vehicles at the head of the class for safety helps consumers distinguish the best overall choices without having to sort through multiple test results."
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