#FastFriday: A CTS-V that’s deceptively light on its feet

For those who think a CTS-V is too big and too heavy to be used as a competitive race car, Christopher Drum is here to prove them wrong.

“It does things people don't think a sedan should be able to do,” says Drum of his 2005 Cadillac CTS-V, “and it frankly does them well.”

What better venue to prove his point than the Tire Rack Ultimate Track Car Challenge presented by Grassroots Motorsports, our annual search for the fastest machine on four wheels?

Normally competing in NASA ST3–detuned, Drum adds–the CTS-V is powered by a 450-horsepower LS3 V8 that’s mated to the car’s stock gearbox.

The differential is also noted to be stock, but that’s pretty much where the list of original parts ends. The CTS-V features Penske triple-adjustable shocks, AP Racing brakes up front, and several mounts and bushings from the Creative Steel catalog.

Outside the car, the hood has been replaced with one made of carbon fiber and the doors currently fitted were sourced from the factory-backed Grand Am race cars.

The Ultimate Track Car Challenge, in which the rules simply require both car and driver to pass a safety inspection, takes place October 26-27 at Kentucky’s NCM Motorsport Park alongside the Tire Rack SCCA Time Trials Nationals Powered by Hagerty.

For more information about the 2024 Tire Rack Ultimate Track Car Challenge presented by Grassroots Motorsports, visit ultimatetrackcarchallenge.com.

Comments

Toyspyder New Reader
7/19/24 2:20 p.m.

On a somewhat related (barely) note, does anyone out there know what happened to the Cadillac ATS-V.R GT3 racecars that competed and won in the 2015-2017 Pirelli World Challenge Series? I was sad to see them pulled from that series and retired when the founder of SRO lobbied against them being allowed in the GT3 category because customer cars were not being built an offered for sale. Then Cadillac switched their focus and moved into IMSA DPi then GTP.

My efforts to determine the car's fate after retirement have been unsuccessful. Did they end up in a Cadillac museum, sold to private parties, remain with Pratt Miller Motorsports or scrapped? If anyone has any insight please share your knowledge.

kb58 UltraDork
7/19/24 3:45 p.m.

I had a late model Camaro that did "surprising well", with the "surprise" being $500 tire wear in one day of auto-x practice. Assuming that there's enough in the budget for tires and pads, I'm sure the Caddy does great.

Bigben HalfDork
7/19/24 11:13 p.m.

I have owned the V6 version of that car with the 6spd manual and LSD for almost 10 years amd it's still a lot of fun to drive. I can definitely see how removing the interior, upgrading springs and dampers, and fitting stiffer anti-sway bars would yield some surprisingly good track performance.