I Drove The CTS-V In The Desert And Didn’t Die

– Pahrump, Nevada

Cadillac’s V-Performance Racing Academy is a two-day driving school included with the purchase of any new ATS-V or CTS-V. When I first heard of it I thought it was a great idea given the horsepower figures on Cadillac’s highest-performing models, but I had my doubts as far as how much instruction you could really pack into just two days.

I got to find out by participating in the program myself. I don’t have much track experience and a 640-horsepower super sedan is a pretty wild vehicle with which to learn, but it wasn’t like I was going to be the only rookie; in my class were several real V-Series owners and journalists with experience levels similar to my own.

Customers will need to find their own way to McCarran International Airport, but otherwise the program’s cost is entirely included with the purchase of a V-Series car. I think anyone already coughing up the money for one of these machines would be a fool not to opt-in; when I was finished with the program I felt far more capable and confident than I’d ever have expected.

I also came away with a newfound appreciation for the ATS-V. While the CTS-V still remains something of a fire-breathing dragon in my eyes, the ATS-V’s power-to-weight ratio, coupled with Cadillac’s clever approach to traction control, wound up feeling just right for a program like this. I felt like I grew into the ATS-V; it was easy to learn about things like trail-braking and when to put your foot down coming out of a corner.

Find out how much I learned about not crashing in the video above. Make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel if you like what you see and check out our playlists to see if you missed anything.