Cadillac Returning to Nrburgring in Hunt for 'Bragging Rights' With New V-Models
Bred to take on the Germans, how will Cadillac‘s new ATS-V and CTS-V fare on the Nürburgring?
That answer will come shortly with Caddy engineers about to undergo final testing of the new high-performance machines at Germany’s famed Green Hell soon.
“The team is going over now in the middle of April,” said brand boss Johan de Nysschen during at interview at the NY Auto Show last week. De Nysschen said he was hoping to be there for the final runs before the cars are first tested by journalists, but said his calendar was not cooperating.
SEE ALSO: Talking Sports Cars With Cadillac Boss de Nysschen
While in some ways a publicity stunt de Nysschen sees the importance as far as marketing the Cadillac brand is concerned. “I think these bragging rights are useful,” he said, adding, “but the guys go there for development purposes and a lot depends. If the weather works, it works. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t.”
And the chances of poor weather in mid-April in Germany are pretty high.
It’s not all about the lap times either, cautions Cadillac PR rep David Caldwell. “That’s not a big part of what they do,” he said. “As you know, they go there for engineering purposes. If they’re in the right frame of mind and the weather cooperates, perhaps something will happen.”
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In 2009 something big happened when the previous generation CTS-V set a new Nürburgring record for a sedan. Running a 7 minute 59 second lap, it became the first four-door to ever run a sub-8 minute time.
No times have been released for the current lineup of BMW M models but there’s a good chance they top the previous generation cars. The best time publicly listed for a BMW model is a 7:48 by the E92 M3 GTS.
Can Cadillac top that?
Discuss this story at our Cadillac ATS Forum
With AutoGuide from its launch, Colum previously acted as Editor-in-Chief of Modified Luxury & Exotics magazine where he became a certifiable car snob driving supercars like the Koenigsegg CCX and racing down the autobahn in anything over 500 hp. He has won numerous automotive journalism awards including the Best Video Journalism Award in 2014 and 2015 from the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Colum founded Geared Content Studios, VerticalScope's in-house branded content division and works to find ways to integrate brands organically into content.
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I can't wait for this thing to destroy the Germans
How about the traditional high speed heavy....When will we see a real Cadillac again ?