2014 Cadillac CTS Vsport First Test

Your browser, , is out of date and not supported by www.motortrend.com. It may not display all features of our site properly and could have potential security flaws. Please update your browser to the most upated version. Update Now First Test: By Frank Markus | Photos By Steven Pham | September 15, 2013  |   As Cadillac continues to build its autobahn arsenal with the larger, leaner CTS, the highly anticipated Vsport model deploys twin-turbo V-6 performance in the war against the Mercedes E550 and BMW 550i twin-turbo V-8s. We've been promised a new AMG/M-fighting CTS-V is in the works, but for now the CTS-V continues on the old architecture, along with all coupes and wagons. The new Vsport model will also wear a simple V on its rump, but will be devoid of the Big V's flag graphics (not to mention its hey-look-at-me air intakes, flares, and so forth). Nobody will mind if you confuse the two, which are currently separated by $5830. Watching and listening to a Vsport hustle away from a dead stop will heighten the confusion. But wait, doesn't Caddy risk bringing a V-6 knife to a twin-turbo-V-8 RPG fight? Maybe not. This state-of-the-art, direct-injected twin-turbo trumps Benz and BMW on power with 420 horses to their respective 402 and 400, though torque lags slightly at 430 versus 443 and 450. Then again, Cadillac's painstaking weight-reduction efforts mean each of its horses is saddled with just 9.5 pounds, where BMW's and Mercedes' equines lug 10.9 or more pounds each; and new shortcut intercooler plumbing pretty much eliminates turbo lag. Cadillac invited us to its Milford Proving Ground one bright sunny summer afternoon to determine exactly how it stacks up against the competition. View the original article here