It’s the top end of the luxury Cadillac range.
Powered by a 477kW 6.2-litre V8 that drives the rear wheels, the CTS-V packs a hefty wallop in the tech department. It also punches a hole in the wallet.
Cadillac’s website has the CTS-V with a manufacturer’s recommended list price of $87,490. Converted to Aussie dollars, that places the CTS-V at over $116,000. That’s upper end HSV pricing — when HSV worked on V8s and not Colorados, that is.
But is it a case of pub quality Chinese food charged at casino restaurant prices? 477kW, eight speed auto, magnetic ride control, launch control, Brembo stoppers, Michelin rubber that are ideally used only during summer — are just the start of the story.
Electric seats with 20-way adjustment, vented/heated front seats, heated tiller, Performance Data Recorder, Auto Park Assist, and 4G LTE wifi hotspot add some more value.
Factor in 0-100km/h in 4.7 seconds and a standing quarter in a breath over 13 seconds and that $116K is starting to look a little more reasonable.
One can then take advantage of the Performance Traction Management system that bundles traction control, magnetic ride control, and the five-mode drive system that includes a Wet setting when pounding it around a circuit on a track day, or on the freeway and tune in to the 13-speaker Bose surround system — with Sirius satellite radio, no less.
One can then enjoy the ride quality provided by the magnetic ride suspension while checking out the info on the head up display. The 19 inch alloys shod in 265/35 and 295/30 Michelin rubber will absorb any imperfections as the CTS-V wafts along in V8-powered comfort.
Aussies will recognise a little something last seen in the VF Series II Commodore. That’s the front fender inserts. The front doors have more than a familiar Holden touch too.
Would it make it an ideal alternative to HSV modified Colorados? Unless you win Lotto and somehow get past the Government’s import laws — we’ll never know.
GM was talking about bringing Cadillac Down Under a few years ago, but it never amounted to anything more than talk.
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