GM's V-series challenge

[Runfromcheney]

Well, the numbers are in and the CTS-V came in on top. However, it is a bit of a hollow victory because the majority of cars competing were CTS-Vs. It appears that is has gone from "Can a competitor build a faster car than the CTS-V" to just a huge dick measuring competition between the drivers. Anyways, Autoblog has the lap times.

Cadillac CTS-V Challenge: Follow along on Twitter — Autoblog

[Ferrer]

How competent is actually Michael Cooper? Because it's amazing that despite the 140bhp deficit the M3 can keep up with the CTS-V.

[RacingManiac]

I don't know, but I know John Hienricy is about as good as a non-professional comes.....

[cmcpokey]

apparently Cooper is an amateur in his own car. has done an advanced racing course and a few HPDEs. no experience in actual racing, and was complimented by johnny o'connel who was there watching along. this is according to jalopnik's facebook postings.

[Sledgehammer]

Dang, I was really hoping a Panamera would show up.

[Ferrer]

Originally Posted by cmcpokey

apparently Cooper is an amateur in his own car. has done an advanced racing course and a few HPDEs. no experience in actual racing, and was complimented by johnny o'connel who was there watching along. this is according to jalopnik's facebook postings.

So the BMW is really good as I take it?

[wwgkd]

Originally Posted by Ferrer

So the BMW is really good as I take it?

That's what I've always heard. I saw another comparison like this done by ford and it turned out that the ability of the BMW to steer so precisely through the corners made up for a big power difference. And everyone who tests it, top gear included (remember the apple on the apex?) comment on it's precision, they all even use the same word.

[Ferrer]

Originally Posted by wwgkd

That's what I've always heard. I saw another comparison like this done by ford and it turned out that the ability of the BMW to steer so precisely through the corners made up for a big power difference. And everyone who tests it, top gear included (remember the apple on the apex?) comment on it's precision, they all even use the same word.

Well, I should know.

[RacingManiac]

Originally Posted by cmcpokey

apparently Cooper is an amateur in his own car. has done an advanced racing course and a few HPDEs. no experience in actual racing, and was complimented by johnny o'connel who was there watching along. this is according to jalopnik's facebook postings.

Which is why it was unlikely for anyone but Hienricy+CTS-V combo to win....multiple SCCA national championships(11 according Wiki), development engineers for GM's performance cars for years...unless you have the same caliber of driver+car combo most are SOL....its not as if they'll stick him in other cars....which would make a comparison much more valid...

[cmcpokey]

Originally Posted by Al Navarro from Jalopnik

After my laps (I was a passenger, btw), I spoke to Michael Cooper, the winning M3 driver. He had just gotten out of a CTS-V himself...and said something like "I could probably find another 3 seconds in that car [the CTS] vs. my M3. The brakes are amazing."

So it wasnt as clear cut as it seems like it was. this guy just seems like he has some natural talent. it would have been interesting to see how he would have fared against O'Connell

[Kitdy]

Here's the full results:

John Heinricy in CTS-V: 2:46:560
Aaron Link in CTS-V: 2:48:902
Brian Redman in CTS-V: 2:49:596
Michael Cooper in BMW M3: 2:50:424
Jack Baruth in CTS-V: 2:51:153
Lawrence Ulrich in CTS-V: 2:53:157
Bob Lutz in CTS-V: 2:56:321
Michael Mainwald in BMW M5: 3:05:398
Wes Siler in Mitsubishi Evo: 3:08:126
Chris Fairman in CTS-V: 3:14:292
Archan Basu in Jaguar XF: 3:15:670
Tom Loder in Audi RS4: 3:15:702

Kudos to that Cooper guy - very impressive work from him.

It would have been nice to have seen a Panamera and C63 in the mix too though... Or maybe an RS6?

[wwgkd]

Originally Posted by Kitdy

Here's the full results:



Kudos to that Cooper guy - very impressive work from him.

It would have been nice to have seen a Panamera and C63 in the mix too though... Or maybe an RS6?

Would have been nice for comparison's sake, but with mercedes afraid to play I doubt porsche would have come out either unless they were pretty sure of a good showing from their car. They have been hyping the heck out of it as "the worlds first 4 door sports car," so if they got beat by a caddy in someone elses test it would be kind of a blow to their ego. And the Audi would fail.

What impresses me most is bob lutz's time. I was expecting a little more failure from him.

[cmcpokey]

Originally Posted by wwgkd

"the worlds first 4 door sports car,"

nissan would beg to differ:

[wwgkd]

Originally Posted by cmcpokey

nissan would beg to differ:

Yeah, I kind of had to stop and wonder at their slogan. It's certainly not the first car to be billed as that, nor is it the first in it's class. And I would always argue with the concept of a 4 door "sports car" as opposed to a "sporty car."

[Ferrer]

Originally Posted by wwgkd

Yeah, I kind of had to stop and wonder at their slogan. It's certainly not the first car to be billed as that, nor is it the first in it's class. And I would always argue with the concept of a 4 door "sports car" as opposed to a "sporty car."

They are what we call them sports saloons, and Alfa Romeo, Jaguar and BMW have been making them since the 50's and 60's, so all fail to Porsche and Nissan.