2016 Cadillac CTS-V Is GM's 477kW Super Sedan For Everyone But Us

GM luxury brand Cadillac has revealed its big new CTS-V power hero this week - but with a Detroit Auto Show debut planned for January, this one won’t be bursting out of any Christmas stockings.

As promised last week, the new CTS-V arrives to deliver a slapdown on Cadillac’s German rivals, comfortably out-performing both the BMW M5 and Mercedes-AMG E 63. On paper, at least.

Reports suggested the new CTS-V would draw power from the same 466kW ‘LT4’ supercharged V8 that drives the new Corvette Z06 coupe, but with outputs dialled down to slightly less rocket-like levels.

The reports were halfway right. For its big new hero sedan, Cadillac turned power not down, but up to 477kW - bettering the Z06 by a good 11kW.

That means the CTS-V is also more powerful than the 430kW E 63 S that we drove here in Australia late last year, and even more powerful than the special 441kW BMW M5 ‘30 Jahre M5’ - itself already 29kW hotter than the ‘regular’ M5.

There’s also Australia’s own HSV GTS, driven by the LT4’s supercharged 6.2 litre V8 cousin, the LSA.

Yep, that’s less powerful too, at 430kW. (A perfectly acceptable number in TMR’s book, but Walkinshaw stands ready to wring out more for any that ask.)

The CTS-V’s prodigious power is delivered to the rear wheels through an eight-speed auto that Cadillac says is a rival to any “dual-clutch/semi-automatic transmissions found in many luxury performance sedans - but with the smoothness and refinement that come with a conventional automatic fitted with a torque converter”.

The company claims the CTS-V will hit 100km/h in just 3.7 seconds, on its way to a top speed of 322km/h - supercar numbers by most standards.

Other key features include a wider track front-and-back than the regular CTS, a limited-slip differential and the third-generation Magnetic Ride Control system with Performance Traction Management that offers Tour, Sport, Track and Snow driving modes.

Stoppers are 390mm discs up front with six-piston callipers, matched to 365mm discs and four-piston callipers at the rear.

The chassis also benefits from a 25 percent increase in rigidity over regular CTS models, and each corner is held up by 19-inch alloys wrapped in Michelin Pilot Super Sport rubber.

The large CTS-V joins the midsized ATS-V as Cadillac’s performance kings - and if you’ve already guessed that neither will be coming to Australia in any official capacity, you’d be right.

Instead, the CTS-V - and the wider Cadillac range - will be offered in North America, Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Japan and South Korea.

Nice for some...

MORE: Cadillac Reveals Europe Plans, Australian Launch Next?
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