The hot-rod Caddy isn't just one of the best new cars of 2009, it's one of the best cars I've ever driven. Its handling is laser-fine and remarkably unflappable, while the power from its supercharged V8 (556 hp/551 lb-ft) is the stuff Bible stories are written about. Remember, this is the car that beat the BMW M5 around Germany's grueling 17.5-mile Nürburgring race track. The CTS-V runs 0-60 in 3.9 seconds, yet it's posh and genteel enough to ferry your fickle mother-in-law to high tea with the Ladies' Aid Society. With a pricing starting just over $60k, the CTS-V delivers a bang-for-the-buck quotient of nuclear proportions. All this, plus it was conceived, designed and built right here in the US of A. Take that, Germany!
I wish everyone who has ever talked smack about General Motors' engineering prowess (or lack thereof) could test drive the 2009 Cadillac CTS-V. And I don't just mean a quick spin; I mean really drive it -- on the highway, through the curves, and on a race track, just like I did at Cadillac's CTS-V press preview. Anyone can stuff a huge, high-horsepower V8 into a small(ish) car and make something it go really, really fast, but what's amazing about this car is its finesse. On the track, it's quick, precise and amazingly well behaved. Cruising down the highway, it's smooth and composed, with little to indicate that you're driving a car with more horsepower than a Lamborghini Gallardo. It's an amazing bit of engineering, this new CTS-V, and GM's slide-rule set should be very proud of what they hath wrought.
One could argue that the CTS-V is the wrong car for the times, and one would no doubt win that argument. Bear in mind that the CTS-V was conceived when no one seriously thought gas would ever go past $2/gallon or that the car market would crash like it did. Kudos to GM for not turning tail and pulling the plug.
Okay, enough pontificating, let's review the car!