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Video: Jay Leno Looks Back at Cadillac’s First V-Series
Cadillac has been on such a roll with its V-Series and Blackwing cars that it seems strange to imagine a time before a high-powered, handling-oriented V-8 Cadillac. The world-beating performance of Cadillac super sedans only dates back to the first-gen CTS-V, which debuted as a 2004 model just over 20 years ago. As impressive as Cadillac’s performance pedigree is, it’s even more remarkable that it’s come in such a short time. To appreciate the first Cadillac V-Series, Jay Leno invited Tony Roma, the Corvette’s executive chief engineer (and former chief engineer of the Cadillac Blackwing duos), to drive a 2007 Cadillac CTS-V in the latest episode of Jay Leno’s Garage. Roma was the Powertrain Integration Engineer on those first-gen CTS-V sedans and it was his job to get the LS6 and eventually, the LS2 to play nice with GM’s Sigma platform.
Roma explains the genesis of Cadillac’s performance series and how the brand developed it all in-house. He also shares an interesting tidbit: half of Cadillac’s top performance sedans today are optioned with a manual transmission, a much higher percentage than most performance cars across the market. Powering those first CTS-Vs was a 5.7-liter LS6 borrowed from the Corvette Z06. The 6.0-liter LS2 replaced it in 2006. Looking under the hood, it’s amazing that the LS V-8 fits so well, a testament to the compact pushrod powerplant. “That car was designed with no V-8 in mind, at all,” Roma admitted.
After that brief history lesson, the two take to the streets in the 2007 CTS-V. Leno is amazed by the virtual time capsule of a car with less than 10,000 miles on the odometer, noting that the steering and handling are still crisp. He also points out the performance bargain that the first-gen CTS-V represents. How many other 400hp, manual transmission sedans could you expect to cross-shop for less than $30,000? If you’ve got one of these super sedans, we hope you’re enjoying it every bit as much as Leno did in this video. For those of us who don’t own one, this history lesson and drive serve as an excellent reminder to keep a look out on the used market for one of these six-speed rockets.
Owned an 05 new. Unfortunately development was still underway. Lots of stuff broke. Lots of fun when everything worked. Dealer couldn’t fix it. I still loved it…sob
I had a 2005 CTS-V, lazy clutch release, horrible shifter/trans, weak rear-ends! I loved every minute I owned it. The shifter/trans was the reason I bought an auto when trading up to a Gen 2 V.
These are big cars in the tuner market today. There are some very wicked fast ones out there.
I have autocrosses the first gen and it was a 4 door corvette. The Coupe with the Supercharger was crazy.
The key here is Tony Roma is the new Tadge. He is the new head of Corvette and I think they will be in good hands. Tony gets it about power and quality.
It was a fun video. I remember when the CTS-V first appeared. We were all excited about it. Other than some wheel hop issues they were very fun to launch and drive around in. The second gen is just wonderful to drive. Part of me wished I had picked up a wagon back in the day.
In 2013 I was going to purchase a new CTS-V Coupe, but then a friend gave me a heads-up about a 2012 that was available about an hour away with only 9,800 miles on it. Went to look at it and it had every option and color I would’ve gotten if I had special ordered it and it was selling for almost $20K below MSRP for a new one that was spec’d the same.
The story for the salesman, if he was to be believed, was that the wife of a friend of the dealership owner leased it for a year and he went on to share the same story that Tony Roma shared. People would walk in the dealership asking for their most expensive Cadillac, and after purchasing it realized that it’s terrible on fuel, doesn’t ride like the Cadillacs of old, and aren’t the best cars to be driven in Midwest winters.
Anyway I scooped up that car. It currently has 57K miles and have enjoyed every single one of the 47K I put on it, and it has been very reliable. I think I had an O2 sensor go bad when I first got it and one or two minor repairs (i.e door latch switch), but aside from that, it has been solid.
I love it today as much as the day I brought it home! I don’t see me ever getting rid of it!
One of my neighbors has a CTS-V wagon with a 6-speed manual. I saw it a month ago, one owner, daily driver but kept in pristine condition. Very impressive cars.
I had a 2005 CTS-V that I bought in 2006 used with only 3,200 miles. My love for the car though was short lived. It was in mint condition and after about 4 years with around 25,000 miles problems began. First the cooling system started leaking, then the power steering fluid began leaking followed by driveline vibration which Cadillac found out was the transmission. They replaced the entire transmission which thankfully still under warranty. Shortly after that the magnetic ride system malfunctioned on the freeway and I nearly crashed the car. It was a $900 dollar repair and the cat was no longer under warranty. Got it fixed and traded the P.O.S. in on a new vehicle. I will never by another GM.
Wow – six lug wheels unless I’m being fooled by fancy covers. And did they forget to slap a plate on that thing or does Jay routinely get away with hot dogging around LA without one?
Yep, six lug wheels and I purchased an additional set of them (with Blizzaks) in order to drive the car in the winter in Detroit. Summer tires were an annual expense. This was a great car.
He’s probably got a dealer plate. Would you write Jay Leno a ticket?
Even a dealer plate needs to be affixed to the car. Would I cite him? Probably not because I personally have great respect and admiration for him but should cops’ personal knowledge and feelings towards lawbreakers dictate which ones get written? I must reluctantly say no.
The Corvette Chief needs a new barber if he is going to represent General Motors and the Corvette brand!