Road and Track: M5 versus CTS-V

What do you get when you combine German driving skills with an American sport sedan? One rough andready American icon.

The CTS-V is just that. Where the regular CTS is blah, and, well, bleh… The V is a formidable effort of true German quality. It was born on the ‘Ring, and bread with an American V8. The CTS-V lapped the ‘Ring in a sedan record of 7:59. It has a 6.2L Supercharged V8, packing 556hp at 6100 RPM and 551lb-ft of torque at 3800 RPM. Keep these figures fresh in your mind… The CTS-V only weighs 4200/4300lbs, in manual and automatic trim.

The M5 is a car that we’ve had since 2005 to drool over. And I still do. Every time I see one, I still have to stop and look, or take a second look. I love the M5. I prefer the manual to the SMG, but that’s just me. The M5 still carries one hell of a punch with a Naturally Aspirated V10 that has 500hp at 7750 RPM and 383lb-ft of torque at 6100 RPM. The M5 also weighs in at just 4012lbs.

So, Road and Track got the two cars and took them to the Monticello Motor Club’s brand new, unfinished, 3.4 mile long track, that is still under construction. Bill Auberlen and John Heinricy were both on hand to drive the M5 and the CTS-V around the track. Bill Auberlen is a factory BMW driver, and is famous for racing the M3 in ALMS, and John Heinricy is head of GM’s performance division, and drove the CTS-V around the ‘Ring for its lap record.

Now, here we go. This is a very fair test. Where Road and Track, to me, has become a very slow paced magazine that can’t really test their cars to the same 0-60 and 1/4 mile times that Car and Driver and Motor Trend can. But this time, they look up to the challenge. Unfortunately, do to the construction at the track, they could only track for an hour and drive so hard, as there was a lot of dust embedded in the track, and some water on the back side of the track in the shade. They got no chance to test the cars’ 0-60’s and 1/4 mile times against one another. That’s okay, because the track time tells a better story.

Both the Cadillac and BMW teams were there to watch it all go down. The CTS-V was a 6-spd manual, and BMW supplied an SMG and a 6-spd manual M5 for the test. Bill took the SMG. Keep in mind, John Heinricy has been the official test driver of the CTS-V since its inception. He is also a factory Chevrolet racing driver. Bill hasn’t touched an M5 in four years.

The CTS-V came out and drove a 2:47.55 after some warming up. The M5 ran a 2:45.96 after some test laps. Then the M5 comes in and finishes the day with a 2:44.70. The CTS-V then struggles to get the fastest total lap before they had to wrap up the hour long test. The V raced to 2:44.23.

See that? 2:44.70 for the M5 and 2:44.23. John has been driving the car for a few years now. Bill hasn’t driven an M5 in four years, and rips the V a new one… The CTS-V has 56 more hp, 168 more lb-ft of torque, and just shy of 200lbs heavier. The M5 is just slightly slower with less. Isn’t that funny. Remember, the CTS-V also develops its 551lb-ft of torque at 3800 RPM versus the M5’s 383lb-ft of torque at 6100 RPM. Oh, and the V gets its 56 more hp at 6100 RPM versus the M5’s 500hp at 7750 RPM.

I can’t wait until the next M5 comes out. Look out Cadillac, BMW isn’t far behind being the older dog in this fight.

You can read the full article and view all of the pictures at RoadandTrack.com.

Article by Josh from RawAutos.com

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