CADILLAC CTS-V 2008-2015 Photos, engines & full specs

The CTS-V was the weapon thrown by Cadillac at the BMW M5 and the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG but in a terrible economic time.

In 2008, the world economic crisis was full-on, and GM desperately tried to get more money from the market. Its European arm, Opel-Vauxhall, was in danger of being purchased by the Russian savings bank Sberbank. Still, the giant American carmaker kept its flag up, bleeding money from all the pockets, and tried a rescue with some outrageous cars, such as the CTS-V.

With its angular-shaped front fascia, few cars on the road looked meaner or more aggressive than the CTS-V. Its metallic grilles from above and below the bumper demanded some respect. A power dome on the hood suggested that something underneath could do something more than just cruising. Cadillac installed a set of side-sills that visually lowered the ground clearance on the car's sides while at the back, two exhausts poked out under the apron.

Inside, the sport bucket seats made by Recaro and three binocular-style instrument clusters warned the driver about the car's performances. Even more: a manual gear stick raised from the center console. To emphasize the sporty character of the CTS-V, Cadillac added carbon-fiber and piano-black trims on the dashboard, door cards, and center stack.

All these visuals had a reason: the SL9 V-8 engine carried over from the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. Its 6.2-liter supercharged powerplant provided 556 hp on a car priced lower than an M3 and claimed an under-eight minute on the Nurburgring race-track. Its secret weapon was the magnetorheological dampers, which stiffened the suspension leading to higher cornering speeds.