Cadillac CTS-V Now Fastest Production Sedan At The Nurburgring

It’s not just the GT-R that's causing a stir at the Nurburgring. GM is also out in force with the ZR1 Corvette and Cadillac CTS-V. Bold claims that the ZR1 will break the production car lap record at any track are yet to be proven but there is now one record that GM can lay claim to – the fastest-ever publicly documented lap time for a production sedan.

The ugly but obviously fast Cadillac CTS-V has broken through the 8 minute per lap barrier and recorded a time of 7:59.32 in testing.

Cadillac is nearing the completion of testing of the CTS-V, a limited-edition high-performance model based on the CTS sport sedan. John Heinricy, GM Performance Division executive and an acclaimed racing driver, piloted the CTS-V through its sub-8 minute lap today. The car itself was equipped exactly as planned for consumer production, which is scheduled to begin later this year.

GM admits that one of the realistic objectives of the Cadillac team is to make the CTS-V the world's fastest production sedan, as a part of the overall goal to make the V-Series Cadillac's ultimate expression of performance and technology. More updates will be released in the coming weeks as testing is finalized, including the car's certified SAE power ratings, acceleration specifications and U.S.-market pricing.

The new 2009 CTS-V includes a suite of advanced performance technologies, including a new version of Cadillac's Magnetic Ride Control suspension and an LSA 6.2-liter Supercharged V8 engine – a de-tuned version of the ZR1 Corvette’s LS9 powerplant. For the first time, the CTS-V will include the choice of 6-speed manual or automatic transmissions, with the new automatic sporting steering wheel-mounted shift buttons.

The 8 minute per lap barrier for production cars was first broken by Nissan with the R33 GT-R back in the mid 90’s.