World's Fastest Cadillac?

[Bruce Nunnally]

http://www.musclerides.com/forum2/showthre...highlight=xxxlr

http://www.knfilters.com/news/news.aspx?ID=955

Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop pushed the envelope at the Bonneville Salt Flats during Speed Week. Its Cadillac XLR set a record of 222 mph and is now officially “The World’s Fastest Cadillac.”

http://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27219

I guess a few of you already know, but i'm building a new Cadillac XLR Roadster for Bonneville. It will be powered by a 1300hp big single turbo Northstar Caddy engine. We are going to run the Winters Quick Change Rear..I'm debating on which transmission to use. Rabbit whose building the car wants a 5 speed Jerico. He is very well versed on race cars but likes what has worked for him in the past. I personally like to explore all possibilities before making a decision. I have been discussing with Rockland their Tranzilla. It's a T-56 based trans that lots of the Viper guys are running. It is a dog ring style trans without synchros, big shafts, high nickle gears etc. They say it's good for over 1,000hp. Some tell me the Vipers are tearing out 5th gear in the Jericos. I don't think any of that should be a problem since we will not be hooking up at Bonneville..or any of the other places we'll run with the exception of places like Maxton where even then we won't be hooking as hard as a 1/4 miler would. any other suggestions..The Tranzilla only comes with one gear set...2.29..1.60..1.20...1....85....75..I do like the idea of a 6 speed which keeps the gears close together and still has overdrive..even though with the quick change, the overdrive isn't that big a deal. We're remming all the gears etc in the trans and rear too for reduced friction etc. The Jerico is 2,50...1.632..1.273..1.12...1..Another thing Rabbit likes about the Jerico is the shifter location. He likes the way you can get it right next to your leg, where you won't have to reach over for it. I haven't researched all the shifter options on the T-56. We are looking for simplicity..not a bunch of complicated trick stuff that might give problems..got any educated opinions?

__________________

Bob "cooter" Johnson

It appears to be Alan Johnson at chrfab.com who did the engine; confusingly one of the owners of the shop that did the car is also named Alan Johnson.

They were hoping for 240+mph but for a first test trip the 222mph seems good to me.

This was a real northstar engine, but the car itself was a fabricated full race car modelled after an XLR body.

[Marcus815]

I thought it would have been the Cadillac Sixteen or Cien as the fastest Cadillac.

[Bruce Nunnally]

In terms of street cars, I would say the CTS-V is fastest, as it is speed limited to 163 mph. The other V-series I believe are limited to 155 mph.

[abad95]

In terms of street cars, I would say the CTS-V is fastest, as it is speed limited to 163 mph. The other V-series I believe are limited to 155 mph.

.

They shouldn't make the less powerful CTS-V as the fastest street Cadillac.

It made the STS-V less desireable,and their sales probably show that.

It was probably aimed at the 3 Series Beemers and looks like it was success though.

Florin

[joeb]

i think a caddy should have a caddy motor. a cts-v is just a fancy GTO in my opinion. when i think of cadillac, i think of northstar motors, not chevy motors. when i go to other websites and go thru the cts-v threads i can't help but notice that all they talk about is the "motor", not really the chassis. you woud think it was a corvette or camaro website if you were not paying attention.

[clarkz71]

I agree, just like the Escalade. Another chevy engine.

[Bruce Nunnally]

I am more than happy for Cadillac to choose the best engine and chassis available to them for each car. Putting the 5.7L LS6 with 400hp in the 2004 CTSV was a perfect fit for the market and the purpose of the vehicle. Replacing it with a 6L LS2 engine in 06 also made perfect sense, and although rated similarly it puts out more power. I am also happy to trade exclusivity for access to performance parts and aftermarket support!

The CTS-V has a Cadillac chassis and a "chevy" (corvette) engine; the XLR has a "chevy" (corvette) chassis and a Cadillac engine. They are all perfectly "Cadillac" to me, in that they were specifically configured and tuned with a Cadillac customer in mind. Even in the case of vehicles with shared corporate powertrains, the Cadillac version is specifically tuned to provide the noise, vibration, and harshness characteristics that Cadillac drivers prefer. That was I feel one of the contributors to the wheelhop the early CTS-V's got a lot of criticism for. In fact, development of the 6.2L L92 engine for the Escalade, a variant of the LS7 engine in the Z06, appears to have led to this year's 6.2L LS3 435hp engine for the new Corvette. It also appears to be the path for the 550+hp LS8 6.2L supercharged engine (low-hp LS9) due in the 09 CTS-V.

Also remember that Corvette's cost as much as Cadillacs these days, ranging from no-option models at $45K up to a Ron Fellows Edition Z06's at $78K (base). There has been some discussion at GM that Corvette should be a separate brand altogether from Chevrolet; it really does not fit in with the charter of Chevrolet as the GM entry-level brand.

The GTO btw is more like a Catera-V, since the evolved off the same Holden Commodore chassis. Cadillac kept saying back then that there was not enough market to make a V8 Catera a viable option. Based on the poor sales of the GTO, I guess they were right after all.

There are a lot of factors that go into the selection of a speed limiter, including the tires on the car, and the physical limits of items such as the driveshaft.

The STS-V looks great to me, with the different styling and hood than the regular STS. Starting at $79K is a tough market.

[joeb]

why didn't they put the northstar in the cts-v? they had the 260hp V6 and dropping in a 320hp northstar might not have been impressive enough. I think a larger displacement NS, say about 5.5-6L would have made it very interesting. a SC NS is nice but its complex, intercooler, piping and packaging take up space in a smaller engine bay that the cts has.

[abad95]

I don't know,but they better get that 12 Banger out soon!

Hopefully the next STS-DTS?

Florin

[stefank]

Is the Cadillac BLS (marketed in Europe) a Cadillac then?

Built on the Opel Vectra / Saab 9-3 platform in Sweden by Saab? Diesel engine developed by Alfa Romeo in Italy?

Strange...