New Record For Bone-Stock CTS-V: 11.97 at 116 MPH

Well, it’s official. The 2nd Gen Cadillac CTS-V can now claim that it is an 11-second car right off the showroom floor. The proof is in this YouTube video from Redline Motorsports and Road Test TV, which details the dragstrip adventures of the crew as the tested their new shop car.  

We talked to our good friend Howard Tanner from Redline, who filled us in on a few of the details. The CTS-V was consistently running low-12s in less than optimal weather conditions at Palm Beach International Raceway, and the crew was ready to call it good-enough and take the car back to the shop and get busy modifying it. Then the DA dropped from 1,500 feet with 94% humidity to 1,100 DA and just 64% humidity, so they decided to give it one more try.

The car is still wearing the stock 285/35/19 Michelin Pilot Sports, and the only changes they made to the were pumping up the stock front tires all the way up to 50 PSI for less rolling resistance and dropping the rear tire pressure down to 28 PSI for better grip. In fact, there are just 1,600 miles on the car, and it hasn’t even so much as had the oil changed yet.  

Tanner tells us that the car is a 6-speed automatic, and they launched at 1,500 RPM. “We didn’t use any traction control. This was just raw driver!” he tells us. The car seems to grip pretty well out of the hole, and the trans deftly snaps through the gears shifting at 6,000 RPM. The final ET rings in at 11.97 at 116.9 MPH, with a street-tire defying 60-foot of 1.7.

 

It’s an impressive accomplishment for sure, but the Redline Team agrees that this is about the maximum performance that can be wrung from the CTS-V in stock form. “We think the car is at its peak number,” says Tanner. “It’s getting the most traction it can get and it has minimal wheel spin. Even so, the Pilot Sports are quite impressive for a street tire.”

So what’s next for the Redline Cadillac after this? Modifications – lots of them. Tanner tells us, “Since the CTSV if factory supercharged increasing airflow is quite easy. Our base packages will typically include improvements to the air inlet system as well as increasing the supercharger speed. This is also combined with engine management changes to deal with the new airflow changes.”

Many of you are likely scratching your head over them choosing to run with a 6L80E and not a manual trans, but there are more than just power gains to be had with an automatic CTS-V. “The 6L90E transmission is also is a place we spend time to recalibrate,” says Tanner. “We have proven that improving the shift response will pick up ET at the track.”

Given Redline’s considerable success modifying the supercharged LSA in the ZL1 Camaro, we can’t wait to see where this Caddy will end up when they are done with it. We’re thinking this is a low 10-second car hiding in luxury trim. How about you?  

About the author

Clifton Klaverweiden

Clifton has been a car fanatic since his late teens, when he started the restoration of his '67 Camaro. He considers himself a student of automotive science and technology, and particularly loves all things LSX. And, although he has an appreciation for everything, from imports to exotics, his true passion will always be for GM musclecars.
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