Here we have a video clip of Hennessey Performance Engineering testing a 2017 Cadillac ATS-V equipped with the HPE550 package. The sound? Impressive – at least as far as V6s go. The numbers? Even more impressive: 463 horsepower and 449 lb-ft of torque at the wheels, versus 373 hp and 375 lb-ft on the bone-stock car.
Aside from a revised ECU tune, the HPE550 package includes higher-flow air filters and an upgraded axle-back exhaust kit to net the aforementioned gains. But importantly, as John Hennessey explains in the video above, the improvements aren’t confined to a narrow band of the engine-speed range. Rather, they can be felt throughout the whole power curve, especially from 3,500 to 6,500 rpm.
Mr. Hennessey goes on to compare the ATS-V to the Ford Focus RS, saying that he liked the Focus RS in stock form, but that he really began to love it once his firm had fiddled with it a bit. He suspects the same might happen when he’s able to spend more time behind the wheel of the Cadillac, now that HPE has had its way with it.
Stay tuned to find out what John Hennessey has to say about the HPE550 ATS-V, which we’re expecting to be put into video form any day now.
Comment
Love Hennessey’s vehicles, but have a hard time saying Ford Focus in same sentence as Cadillac ATC.