Does the Cadillac V actually stand for something? – Jalopnik

There are numerous internet theories about why Cadillac “V” chose his performance division. Just as people are believing that the seven-slot grille of the Jeep represents seven continents or is the result of Ford that marked the nine slot grille of the Army Jeep (Ford no trademark that I have viewed copyright/trademark/patent paper work to prove it). People on forums claim that Cadillac’s “V” is officially for “speed”. Others claim that it refers to the shape of the engine, such as a V8 and V6, which is a problem because the CT4-V non-Blackwing has an inline 4 and the LyriQ-V has electric engines. Go to Wikipedia and you will read that the “V” was chosen because it looks like the old forms among the crowned wreathlogos on Cadillacs after the Second World War.

Here is the real reason why Cadillac has settled on “V.” In an interview with LSX MagazineBob Lutz, former chairman of GM Noord-America and an all-round automotive legend, explained the postal choice. The interviewer asked: “Finally and not to set up a point, but what does the ‘V’ stand for?” Lutz replied: “They hired people for this and did research and such. We naturally wanted to stay away from M, A, G, R or S and thought that ‘V’ was a unique and elegant letter. There is definitely a credible statement to say that it stands for speed, where the later models are described as a visceral.” In other words, “V” was chosen because it looked nice, and Cadillac could clearly not use a letter that was already claimed by other manufacturers. But if people want to say that it stands for something, more power for them.

Really, the “V” could stand for “Vendetta” (Hey, that would be a catchy film title). In the late 90s and early 2000s, Cadillac had the reputation to make cars for people who were so old that they remembered the woolly Mammoet. The reality was of course not that dramatic, because in 2002 an Escalade spokesperson said that the average Cadillac buyer was 62. Yet the brand knew that it had to be correct or that it would go the way of the Dodo. Since the early 80s, Cadillac wanted to rely on younger demography and stop the sale of bleeding to BMW and Mercedes. After failure with the allante designed by Pininfarina, Cadillac hit gold with the escalade in 1999. While the average Caddy buyers were 62 in 2002, Escalade buyers were 50.

So in 2004 Cadillac started his Vendetta against BMW’s M series seriously with the CTS-V. “TOP Gear” -Gastheer Jeremy Clarkson said his styling “was done by someone who only had a ruler.” And while that is fair, who was the 400 hp LS6 V8 of the Corvette Z06 routering by a mandatory Tremec six-speed gearbox under the hood? I have a red ’05 CTS-V daily, and I can tell you that it is impossible to give design choices when the accelerator pedal is planted firmly on the floor. Cadillac voted the handling of the legendary challenging Nürburgring in Germany and ensured that it would stop thanks to four-wheel Brembo disc brakes.

Cadillac succeeded the CTS-V with the less successful Cadillac STS-V, which fought against the Mercedes-AMG cars, and the XLR-V, which existed for some reason. Cadillac XLR-VS command new sports car money nowadays, so the time has been friendly for them.

After his term of office, the CTS-V was the most important V-series Manteld carrier, with the help of naturally extracted LS6 and LS2 power in ’04 -’07. In 2009 it was equipped with a 556-HP Supercharged LSA V8 (based on the LS9 of the C6 Corvette ZR1), which was replaced by a 640-HP LT4 in 2016. Unfortunately, GM seems to be the manual transmissions too wrong, because the CTS-V was only automatically until his overview in 2019.

The V-series logo spread through the brand-up of the brand, including the “middle” vsport. Although Cadillac CTS VSport 2014 was not a complete V, it rocked a 420 hp Twin-Turbo V6. Then came the ATS-V, who also used a Twin-Turbo V6 but the grunt raised to 464 hp. The CT6-V arrived in 2019 with a new double overhead cam twin-turbo V8 that looked like the second arrival of the Northstar (or the correct first arrival, because Cadillac did not perfect the Noordstar exactly from the gate), but it only took two years. Then there is the Escalade V, which uses a 682-HP Supercharged V8 that can propel the vehicle of the cruise ship format with the hurry of a cruise rocket. However, the most exciting modern Cadillac V-series must be the CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing. Powered by a 472-HP Twin-Turbo V6 and a 682 hp supercharged V8, respectively, are both offered with a 10-speed automatic or, the right choice, a manual six-speed gearbox.

In 2023, Cadillac Vice-President Rory Harvey claimed that CT4-V and CT5-V Blackwing buyers are on average 54 and 56 years old respectively. Non-performance Cadillac buyers are 10 years older. For the past 21 years, Cadillac has demolished the perception that the brand is for people who were in the area during the civil war, and we can thank the V-series for that.