Cadillac was founded in 1902 in Detroit, Michigan. At the time, there were only nine other car manufacturers around. But even with the lack of competition, Cadillac didn’t simply sit around and wait for the customers to come to it. It actively chased them down with its big, super-stylish cars. Over 100 years later, it’s still pushing the envelope in luxurious, powerful motors that sit on the cutting edge of automotive technology. And when it comes to fast cars, it’s got it covered. If you feel the need for speed, check out these 10 fastest Cadillac models of all time.
1. Cadillac CTS-V Sedan
114 years after the first Cadillac rolled off the production line, Cadillac came up with its fastest car to date. The 2016 Cadillac CTS-V Sedan is a 4 door RWD Saloon with 5 seats, a front-mounted 6.2L V8 Supercharged Petrol engine, and the kind of top speed that would leave Jeremy Clarkson begging for mercy. The CTS-V’s prodigiously powerful 6.2-liter LT4 supercharged V8 offers 640hp, giving it the kind of raw power that runs rings around the competition. Capable of 0-60 mph runs of 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 200 mph, this is a car for speed freaks (although with an average retail price of $86,995, probably not one for the cash-strapped).
2. Cadillac CTS-V Wagon
Next up is the Cadillac CTS-V Wagon, a 5 door RWD Estate with the same front-mounted 6.2L V8 Supercharged Petrol engine as the Cadillac CTS-V Sedan and just a fraction less the speed. Produced from 2011 to 2014, the CTS-V Wagon is regularly touted as one of the best station wagons of all-time. It’s easy to see why. If you like top speeds of 191mph, acceleration from zero to 60 mph in just 3.9 seconds, a stick shift (if you’re a Caddy enthusiast, you’ll know the appeal of that last one), and a car that manages to combine practicality with style, you’re going to love this 2040kg super wagon.
3. Cadillac CTS-V Coupe
By now, you’re probably getting the idea that cars in the CTS line are fast. And they are. With a top speed of 191 mph, the Cadillac CTS-V Coupe is no exception to the rule. Its front-mounted 6.2L V8 Supercharged Petrol engine packs a powerful punch, offering 556 hp and acceleration from 0-60 in just a fraction under 4 seconds. As Cadillac’s first coupe since the Eldorado, it generated a huge amount of buzz when it was released in 2010, not to mention a fair few signs when it was discontinued in 2015.
4. Cadillac ATS-V Coupé
With a top speed of 189 mph, the Cadillac ATS-V Coupé is a nifty little number featuring 4 seats, 3 doors, a front-mounted 3.6L V6 Bi-Turbo Petrol engine, and more power than a car its size has any right to be. Pop yourself behind the wheel of this pocket rocket and you can expect to get from zero to 60mph in just 3.9 seconds. With 464 horsepower and 445 pound-feet of torque, it offers bigger and better performance than the bulk of its competitors, leaving even the very nimble BMW M4 in its wake.
5. CT6-V Blackwing Sedan
This year saw the launch of the CT6-V Blackwing, the fastest car by far in Cadillac’s 2020 lineup and one of its fastest cars, period. Its 550 hp twin-turbocharged V-8 offers acceleration of zero to 60 in a tiny 3.8 seconds. Priced at $97,220, it’s not for the fainthearted. It is, however, very much for those who like their cars fast, stylish, and capable of impressing the neighbors.
6. Cadillac STS 4.6 V8 AWD
It may only have stuck around for 3 years, but the Cadillac STS 4.6 V8 AWD still managed to leave an impression. Powered by the super-charged V8 NorthStar engine with a displacement of 4.6 liters and 320 hpm, it introduced a newly aggressive aesthetic to the STS line along with enough innovative new safety features (including a lane departure warning system, a blind spot monitoring system and an updated version of GM’s StabiliTrak stability control system) to keep everyone happy. But where it really excelled was in the speed department. With maximum speeds of 155 mph, it’s a little slower on its feet than today’s CTS’s, but back in the early noughties, it was considered a top buy for speed freaks.
7. Cadillac CTS 3.6 V6
When WardsAuto reviewed the power, fuel efficiency, new technology and refinement of 31 engines from 11 automakers in 2019, it gave top marks to the 3.6L V6 Petrol engine. “The 3.6 delivers the kind of power and lusty exhaust note you associate with a V-8, for the price of a V-6. Plus, it’s loaded with advanced technology, including fuel-saving cylinder deactivation,” Drew Winter, director of WardsAuto, said. How is this relevant, you ask? Simply because the 3.6L V6 Petrol engine is the power behind the Cadillac CTS 3.6 V6, one of the fastest cars ever to roll out of a Cadillac factory and a fine addition to the CTS legacy. With a top speed of 155 mph, it doesn’t quite match up to the Cadillac CTS-V Sedan for raw power, but few would argue it’s not a world-class sprinter.
8. Cadillac BLS 2.8 T V6
With a top speed of 155 mph, the Cadillac BLS 2.8 T V6 was one of the fastest cars around in its day. Produced between 2006 and 2009, it offered plenty of ponies thanks to its turbocharged 2.8 Litre 24v V6 petrol engine. Drivers could expect to go from zero to 60mph in 6.9 seconds – not necessarily newsworthy these days, but enough to make the headlines 15 years ago.
9. Cadillac STS 4.6 V8
As autoexpress.co.uk notes, the Cadillac STS 4.6 V8 was, for a brief period at least, Caddy’s European flagship. Big, powerful, and bold, it was muscular enough to square up to the muscle-bound cars coming out of Germany, and agile enough to leave them for dust. introduced in 2005, it immediately impressed the market thanks to its newly-developed supercharged 4.4 L NorthStar V8 unit. Capable of producing a massive 469 hp and 439 lb./ft of torque, the engine delivered enough power to take it from 0-60 mph in 4.8 seconds and top the quarter-mile in 13.1 seconds. Priced at around $80,000, it was by no means cheap. But with top speeds of 155 mph, it was certainly fast.
10. Cadillac XLR-V
As motor1.com notes, the Cadillac XLR-V was always something of a mixed bag. Some people hated it; some people loved it. A few people even claimed to be completely indifferent to it. Between the first XLR-V in 2003 and the last in 2009, Cadillac only managed to shift around 3730 vehicles, far short of the 5,000 to 7,000 units per year it had anticipated. But even if it never gained a foothold in the market, no one could dispute its speediness. With a top speed of 155 mph, this was one nimble motor. Even its closest competitor, the Mercedes-Benz SL550, had no chance of keeping pace.
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