Founded in 2003, the Cadillac V-Series lineup continues to offer that heady combination of performance and luxury, with all the right features to coddle on the street, plus the go-fast goodies to thrill on the race track. Such is the case for the recently debuted Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing sedans. However, it’s unclear how many V-Series owners actually use all that performance potential by bringing their vehicles to the track. With that in mind, we asked V-Series Blackwing chief engineer Mirza Grebovic to shed some light on the issue.
In a recent interview with GM Authority Executive Editor Alex Luft, Grebovic provided some insight into the percentage of Cadillac V-Series owners that tracked their vehicle.
“We know anecdotally that there is a good amount of them, but it’s difficult to put together an exact figure, because it depends on who you ask,” Grebovic said. “Generally speaking, more V-Series owners take their car to the track compared to those with non-V cars.”
With General Motors’ extensive history in the world of performance and motorsport, there’s plenty of precedent for tracking this kind of thing.
“We used to have GM Performance (High-Performance Vehicle Operations) and conducted a lot of studies for Camaro, Corvette, Cadillac V-Series, and a lot of other performance variants we worked on, including – back in the day – the Cobalt SS, TrailBlazer SS,” Grebovic told GM Authority. “And I can tell you that when we were working on the fifth-gen Camaro, we conducted surveys and they were in the 30-40 percent.”
As for the Cadillac V-Series models specifically, Grebovic said that Gen 3 V-Series models, which includes the third-gen CTS-V and first-generation ATS-V, saw track use around the 30-percent mark.
Of course, there’s still the question of what sort of track use we’re talking about.
“Some customers are very straight-line oriented, some are very road track oriented, and others love the autocross because it doesn’t put as much wear and tear on the vehicles,” Grebovic said.
Overall, an estimate of roughly 30 to 40 percent is about right for track use among Cadillac V-Series owners. Which isn’t bad, all things considered.
Indeed, the Cadillac V-Series models have plenty to offer when it comes to high-performance fun, especially the latest Blackwing sedans, and it takes a race track to make the most of that performance – as 30 to 40 percent of owners can attest.
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Comments
The vehicle should be built for every day practicality and usage at this price point… track capes should be secondary, but inextricably baked into its DNA. As the numbers indicate, an overwhelming majority of customers want, and should be able, to use these cars as daily drivers; year round w/ little to no modification.
With that logic, a Lamborghini should be exactly like a Honda Civic. Call them up! They’ve been doing it wrong for half a century.
I do and will continue to….
If you have not experienced the 3rd generation CTS V on a road course you are missing out , you can beat on these cars for 30 minute sessions and they will ask for more, no overheating problems , no brake problems just go out and have fun , fuel mileage will suffer: about 3.5 mpg : but worth every cent even @ $3.79 a gallon.
I will be taking mine on the track for the first time at Mid-Ohio mother’s Day weekend May 7th 8th and 9th this trip got canceled last year also going to spring mountain motor resort in Nevada canceled last year as well
You will have a blast @ Spring Mountain, great facility and instructors.
I have a 1st gen CTS-V and usually go to the dragstrip once a year with drag radials, just to run time trials. I have gone to a road course once to get a feel for it on a group day. It was a great experience which included 5 track & 4 classroom sessions, although it’s a bit expensive and rough on tires and brakes. It’s worth tracking it every now and then, to safely enjoy all the power, handling and technology that’s built in to these great automobiles!
The 1st gen cars started it all and they were fun but you have to sample the 2nd and 3rd generation cars, you will be impressed.
Edit: I have a 2nd gen V…I don’t know why I said 1st gen?
You are right though, the 2nd gen was leaps and bounds ahead of the 1st. I was drooling over a black 06 back in the day, that we couldn’t afford, as it was a great looking sedan with 400 HP and a 6 speed manual. It just sat in the dealers lot for many months and I would say to the wife…lets go and look at “my” CTS-V, anytime we were in the area…it was so amusing!
The wife said I will be buried in my 2nd gen, as it was a big leap for us, even though it was used. It is a phenomenal vehicle though! I would love to drive a 3rd gen at some point, but buying one is probably out of the question.