Taking a Cadillac CTS-V to the next level

Words and Photos: Cam Benty

Back in the ’60s, car buyers had to sacrifice comfort for power. In fact, if your car was equipped with things like air conditioning and/or power steering, it called into question just how serious you were about going fast. General Motors knew that edict well, even removing things like radios, carpeting, and even defroster systems on their highest power “street cars.” It was purely a power-to-weight equation.

This Caddy can rip! Initial testing of this modified 2016 Cadillac CTS-V delivered some neck-snapping power and speeds well over 150 mph. Just goes to show you — not all Cadillacs are low-speed cruisers.

In high contrast to those original passenger torture chambers of the past are the current run of luxurious road rockets. None are more luxurious — or as fast — as the 2016 Cadillac CTS-V. The most powerful Cadillac in the 112-year history of the company, the supercharged 6.2L V8 engine is rated at 640 hp and 630 lb-ft of torque. Factory claims have the car hitting 60 mph from a standing start in 3.7 seconds, and topping out at 200 mph.

So why mess with it?

It’s an age-old American mindset that you can never have enough horsepower or torque, or go too fast. So, the folks at Granatelli Motor Sports set out to take a lot of the stuff they already knew about these powerful 6.2L engines from their work with the Corvette Z06 applications and twist the screws to see just how fast, fast could be.

The results were impressive. Our first experience with the modified Cadillac includes a run to more than 150 mph in an area we won’t divulge. Few could have imagined back in the last muscle car age a factory-built car that would accelerate this hard, all the while surrounded by luxury and high-tech features. In fact, while blasting down the road, we had the air conditioning on freeze to compensate for the 95-degree day, while the driver spoke nonchalantly, adjusted the radio, and talked about various photo locations…Our point, this car does it all.

Tech tidbits

With any supercharged engine, the easy way to make more power is to add boost. That was exactly the same thought that crossed the minds of Granatelli engineers, who created a crankshaft-mounted pulley that adds two more pounds of boost. That brought the total to 12.7 pounds and served as a loud wake up call for this already fast machine.

To fire the fuel just that much more efficiently, Granatelli Motor Sports added their own Malevolent 85kv Coil Packs at each cylinder, along with “0” ohm ignition wires (PN 28-1545HTRB). In a back-to-back dyno test, the coils and wires netted 10.9 hp and an unbelievable 35.8 lb-ft of torque. From Granatelli’s assessment, there was such an amazing improvement due to the fact that the factory coil is saturating at peak cylinder pressure.

Granatelli also opened up the air box, knowing that additional air is required if the full supercharger boost increase was to be realized. The factory air intake requires the airflow to make a hard 90-degree turn on its way to the engine. Granatelli modified the inlet and at the same time was able to use the factory inlet elbow for an 18 percent increase in airflow. J.R. Granatelli himself let us in on a little secret: the stock intake tubing flows 1300 cfm with almost no restriction — the only drawback is the air box itself. Granatelli simply modified the base of the stock air box to create a near OE look, yet made it flow as well as the inlet.

“It’s not always about eye candy and wow factor when you open the hood,” Granatelli says. “It’s about form, fit, and function.”

The remaining two notable changes, both of which can be found underhood, are the carbon fiber and red-trimmed engine cover and the bright polished (satin is also available), heavy duty export brace that ties the shock towers together. This brace makes a big difference in the stiffness of the chassis without being detrimental to the ride quality.

In terms of power, the current configuration Cadillac is making 670 rwhp and 664 lb-ft of torque. For those with a score card, that’s somewhere north of 700 hp at the crank — a full 60-plus horsepower increase. If this Cadillac can run 200 mph in stock form, who knows where it is now?

Outside Additions

The most striking change for the Cadillac is the red-rimmed Granatelli KG Spider Martello wheels, Martello translating aptly enough from Italian as Hammer. They’re wrapped with Toyo Proxes Sport tires with raised white letters — shades of the old muscle cars of the past. The rear tires measure 305/25/ZR20 and surround 20×11-inch wheels. Up front, the tires are 275/20/ZR20s with 20×10-inch wheels. Those 20 series aspect ratio tires look like rubber bands on those passive wheels, but with the Caddy’s magnetic ride con-trol, which has been left untouched, the ride is butter smooth.

While the factory CTS-V package includes the low and effective front splitter that adds to the car’s clean aero, the Granatelli deck spoiler was wrapped with carbon fiber and provides an excellent body balance. While it would be easy to go crazy with the exterior treatments, the Cadillac features just the right amount of sexy body armor. The rear valance/license plate box, roof, and hood sections all receive carbon coverings. The most striking change to the front end is the unique grille work, a much more open grid section for enhanced airflow and a break from factory original.

“I wanted to really see what was possible with the Cadillac since so many of the drivetrain components are shared by the Corvette,” notes Granatelli. “What turned out was an amazingly fast, highly luxurious car, far better results than I could have ever imagined with a really few number of changes.

“While I could have swapped out the supercharger for a larger displacement unit, it really did not require such a wholesale change. This system is more than effective. This car actually has a cleaner top speed profile than the Corvette, due to the reduced spoiler down force.”

Making the fastest Cadillac ever produced even faster? Now, that’s an American way of thinking.

Source: Granatelli Motor Sports, granatellimotorsports.com