So, what exactly is behind the thinking with Cadillac’s V-Series? Well, performance, luxury, and exclusivity are some words to come to mind. Important as these attributes are the V-Series does something for the brand that no other model can do on its own: raise Cadillac visibility on the world stage. Yes, Cadillac’s old motto – the standard of the world – can be applied to three high performing luxury cars thanks to some risk taking done by General Motors management just a few years ago.
At one time in its glorious history, a Cadillac could be found competing against some of the best production cars in the planet. However, as GM changed so did the brand’s image and performance was left to Chevrolet and Pontiac almost exclusively while luxury became the exclusive realm of Cadillac.
With new models coming online from the late 1990s on, GM knew that Cadillac’s stature had to be raised in order to compete effectively with the best that BMW or Mercedes had to offer. Thus, a decision to enter the brand in Motorsport racing meant that specially tuned models had to be developed. Enter the V-Series.
The V-Series are performance versions of three current models and include the XLR-V, STS-V, and the CTS-V. Performance is the name of the game as all three cars feature super performing V8s, six speed automatic transmissions, sport tuned suspension and braking, and sport interiors. The goal with the V-Series was to deliver three cars that could zip from 0 to 60 in less than five seconds and all three V-Series designated models do just that.
You can thank the Corvette development team for its help in bringing about the V-Series and elevating the Cadillac name to compete against Mercedes’ AMG and BMW’s M lines of performance vehicles. Indeed, in order to compete effectively head on, various Cadillac models are put through the paces of the rigorous Nuerburgring race track which is considered to be the most grueling race track of its kind anywhere.
Speaking of performance, the STS-V is the most powerful Cadillac ever built. Powered by a 4.4L supercharged Northstar V8, the STS-V’s 476 horses put it just below the Corvette, but well within the realm of mostly anything built by Mercedes or BMW. Slightly lower horsepower output is realized with the two other V-Series models but that shouldn’t make much of a difference as this line of performance cars is poised to take on Mercedes and BMW on their home turf.
