Cadillac CTS V fastest sedan ever around the Nurburgring

NURBURG, Germany — Cadillac announced today that the 2009 Cadillac CTS-V has run a 7:59.32 lap of the Nürburgring Nordschleife in the hands of GM Performance Division's John Heinricy. This is thought to be the fastest-ever lap time for a production sedan on this demanding 73-corner, 12.9-mile racetrack.

The redesigned CTS-V is no stranger to the Nordschleife, as it was here that spy photographers first spotted this car in heavy camouflage. The high-performance sedan is now in the final stages of development and testing, says Cadillac, and this particular CTS-V had no significant modifications over and above the production specification.

Although not confirmed as the fastest lap any sedan has ever run on the Nürburgring, there's no denying the 2009 Cadillac CTS-V has the hardware to pull off such a feat. The power source in the CTS-V is GM's supercharged 6.2-liter LSA V8 and it's rated for an estimated 550 horsepower at 6,200 rpm and 550 pound-feet of torque. We'd guess this particular car also had the six-speed manual transmission, which will be offered as a hard-core alternative to the usual automatic.

Cadillac says it will post video footage of the record-setting lap on the Cadillac Drivers' Blog in the coming days.

What this means to you: If you own a BMW M5, it might mean trouble ahead. — Erin Riches, Senior Editor