Well, this has certainly been an interesting last few months, mechanically-speaking. We finally see a production Chevy Volt, Nissan has released a genuine all-electric car and Ducati, the motorcycle entity whose name is synonymous with sport bikes, has launched a cruiser (more on that in a later post). And I finally got my mitts on a Cadillac CTS-V, which proved to be quite a surprise. I shall explain.
Caddy’s CTS sport sedan has enjoyed great critical success, but to be honest it has really never blown my socks off. I’ve always found it cramped, and while it was a decent, competent curvy-road plaything it always had sort of a not-quite-dialed-in feel. There was also a nagging, underlying weirdness to the interior that was just no match for the competition from the likes of BMW, Mercedes, Lexus and Infiniti.
So, given my previous relationship with this car, I wasn’t expecting too much out of the CTS-V except for some serious rocket poop from its massive 6.2-liter Supercharged V8. The specimen I have at this writing has the Saturn-V boost, no question (I’m talking take your breath away, the first time you do a 0-60 run), but this is a really balanced package. It’s so good, and so entertaining in fact, that I have changed my mind about the CTS in general.
This is dumb, because I know in my heart it’s that freakin’ engine that pushes all the buttons. It’s a total Road Warrior petrol-beast, and although you will not find a bigger fan of fuel efficiency when you bolt a supercharger on a big-ass V8 I get weak in the knees. From the Jags, Range Rovers and now this CTS that I’ve sampled with this pumped-up plumbing they just are too much fun when you screw it on. Turbocharging is but a lazy, gentle sneeze compared to the smooth explosion of Supercharging. This particular system is really elegant and quite advanced, and allow me to quote from a Cadillac statement: “The engine features an intercooled Eaton Twin Vortices Series™ (TVS™) supercharger. This unique supercharger design employs twin four-lobe rotors, twisted 160 degrees. Typical superchargers feature three lobes twisted 60 degrees. The fourth lobe and added twist, when combined with unique air inlet and outlet ports, create smoother, more efficient airflow into the engine. In addition to improved overall efficiency, this supercharger has superior noise and vibration characteristics compared to more ordinary designs.”
This translates into a simply brilliant powertrain. It works flawlessly, and still delivers the kind of aural candy that only a supercharged mill can possess. But it is here where I have to give great credit to the rest of the vessel in question, because the tranny, suspension, and especially the Brembo brakes do a wicked good job of making the 556 horsepower manageable. It’s no small feat, building a worthy carriage around so formidable a powerplant. But, they did it. Even the special “V” logo is cool. Well done, Cadillac.
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