When Cadillac pulled the wraps off the new CT6 V-Sport at the New York Auto Show earlier this year, we were pretty excited about its sporty new look and its brand-exclusive 4.2-liter twin-turbo V8 which promises impressive numbers of 550 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque. But deep down, what we really wanted was a full-blown V model.
Well, it seems as though Cadillac is granting our wishes, but not in the way you might think. According to Automotive News, the response to the CT6 V-Sport has been so positive that Cadillac has decided to change the car’s name to the CT6-V. So rather than using the sporty V-Sport trim, Cadillac is welcoming this sport sedan into the family of high-performance V-series cars.
In case you aren’t well versed in Cadillac’s confusing naming scheme, there’s a difference between V-series and V-Sport. The V-series currently consists of the CTS-V and ATS-V which are at the top of the Cadillac performance food chain. However, there’s also a V-Sport trim which adds a little spice to normal variants of Cadillacs without reaching the performance or price levels of the V-Series cars.
For example, the CTS V-Sport has a 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6 that makes 420 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque. This car starts at $61,695. The CTS-V, however, borrows the supercharged 6.2-liter V8 from the Corvette Z06 and makes 640 hp and 630 pound-feet of torque in the Caddy. That extra performance will cost you more money with the CTS-V starting at $86,995.
So, in other words, the CT6 V-Sport got a promotion and will now be called the CT6-V. Despite its new title, it won’t mechanically be any different from the V-Sport model we saw in New York. Yes, it would’ve been nice if the CT6-V bested or even matched the CTS-V’s performance, but it’s hard to complain about a 550 hp Cadillac sedan.