If you told us 15 years ago General Motors’ fastest car in its entire product portfolio would be a four-door Cadillac sedan, we would have probably shook our heads and walked away. That’s soon to be the reality though, as the 2016 Cadillac CTS-V has a claimed top speed of 200 mph, making it faster than the Camaro Z/28 and ZL1, and even the 2015 Corvette Z06.
Powered by a 640 horsepower version of General Motors’ LT4 6.2-liter supercharged small block V8, the 2016 CTS-V will accelerate from 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds and hit an aforementioned top end of 200 mph. The 2015 Corvette Z06 will hit 195 mph when not equipped with the downforce-intensive Z07 package, while the ZL1 and Z/28 will crest 184 mph and 172 mph, respectively.
The CTS-V is able to reach its supercar-rivaling top speed thanks to its powerful LT4 engine and lack of downforce-producing aerodynamic components. Even in its base-model trim, the 2015 Z06 still has effective aero pieces, which likely robs it of the extra 5 mph it needs to enter the 200 mph club. The CTS-V is available with an optional aerodynamics package, but Cadillac hasn’t said if this will lower the top speed. Additionally, the eight-speed automatic transmission in the CTS-V may have taller gearing than the track-focused Z06 for additional smoothness.
So there you have it. GM’s fastest car is a four-door luxury sedan. This will probably be the case for quite some time, or at least until Chevy can get around to dropping their mid-engined C8 Corvette.
Comments
Are they planning to make another ZR1 or just wait to bring a mid engine corvette.. I wish they would since Ford introduced the new Ford GT..
Yeah, the new GT has certainly stolen the show at this year’s auto show! And if you know what this hyper car is capable of, then I’d say the supposed mid-engine Vette has much to aspire to!!!! The Vette has fought and slain many performance heavyweights, but the legendary GT was PURPOSE-BUILT to slay BIGGER legends of hyper performance cars!!! So GM, GET BUSY studying EVERY aspect of the dopamine rush that is the Ford GT!!!
In regards to the CTS-V, I think it’s awesome that it’ll be the fastest GM vehicle! In fact, I personally believe it’s only fitting the fastest GM vehicle is a Cadillac. This is the brand that has to showcase EVERYTHING GM engineers are capable of! Even in the performance department!
BULLSHIT! The Z06’s top speed is more than 2000 MPH!
Yeah, no way that the CTS-V is faster than the corvette. Even the 2014 stingray ran 200 MPH, and were not even talking about the Zo6, or Zo7, but undoubtedly the CST-V is fast, so is the z/28, besides we need to focus on staying ahead of FORD, and Chrysler, not like that will be a problem. 🙂
The 200 MPH is nothing but a brag number. It is the dynamics of a car and how it runs. That is why lap times at the Ring really do give a measure of performance as anyone can go fast tops speed but to make a good set lap standard on a uneven technical track is a measure of refinement and tuning. This translates into how much joy the car is to drive.
The Mid Engine Vette is coming Travis. It may or may not be called ZR1 but it will replace that model one way or the other.
With what GM has coming the Ford GT will not be king of the hill for long. The leaked GM photos were not by chance and were a signal to the public that GM has had a program of their own for a good while now.
I understand that the mid engine corvette is coming, probably be a C8. But I remember Mark Ruess s was saying that hybrid tech in a corvette would be a possibility.. I was just wondering if they might bring a higher corvette being front engine, but I mean the Z06 is a beast already..
Yes Hybrid will be a part of this at some point but no the first version of he C8. We will see more than one version over time.
The whole reason for going mid engine in the first part is to make it handle better. They need to move the engine back farther and the only way to do that is mid engine. The C7 moved it back 3 inches but they had to make the wheel base longer to do it. To go farther back they would have to put the engine into the seating area and that is not going to happen.
The Z06 even if they add more power will not be able to use all the power. The key to a properly tuned package is to get all the power out of the engine and get it to the ground. Right now the Z06 can handle a little more but that is it. I have heard 700 plus and it is going to hit the limit.
Now with the mid engine car they can go even more. The new LT engine is already being tested to 1,000 HP Yes I said 1,000 HP but they will only put in as much as the car can use.
If you put more in than you can use you end up with a Hellcat Charger where it has some impressive numbers but outside of a 1/4 mile you can not use more than 500 HP of it. The engine management kicks out most of it unless you just want to smoke some expensive tires. That is what I hate about the Hellcat is that the engine is so much better than the package it is in. A waste of a good engine and I hope Dodge addresses that in the future.
This is a bit weird. Therefore, I think that GM should produced a special version Corvette Z06 road edition that is still as track capable as the out going ZR-1. However, this Z06 should be able to top out at something around 208 mph.
I think this would make the Z06 more competitive throughout the segment in every category of speed and track capabilities for the nameplate.
The whole key to the performance of the Z06 is the down force the car generates. I is a much faster per lap car than the ZR1 ever was and much more stable.
To make it this stable you need to make down force such as the rear spoiler. What it dose is put a high pressure area over the mid rear of the car just in front of the rear axle that pushes the car down to grip. But to do this it cost drag and that is where the speed gets cut off. The new Z06 without aero parts would go at least 215 or 220 but it would not be stable or able to make a lap near as fast.
This is what I meant in my earlier post as this Z06 is the complete package and not just a top end car. Anyone can go fast in a straight line with the right gear and no down force. The problem is when you have to turn as in life there is always a turn coming and in a sports car they are intended to turn both ways often.
The car you have now is the most track capable car it can be. the only way to improve it is to move the engine back more and guess what they are going to do just that.
200 mph is cool and all, but you can put a rocket on a toilet and it might do 200 to. I love this new CTS – V , but a low lap time is more impressive than a high number at the end of a long and often straight road.
the new ford gt is a beautiful car but also very european looking, the mid engine vette will be all american looking .
How do you define Euro looking and American looking.
It will look like a Corvette but a much more radical one. That we can be assured of.