Next year marks the 20th anniversary of Cadillac’s V-Series sub-brand. The line of high-performance vehicles launched with the introduction of the 2004 Cadillac CTS-V, signaling the beginning of the brand’s efforts to compete with BMW M and Mercedes-AMG.
The brand will kick off a year-long celebration for V-Series starting this weekend at Sebring. Cadillac is planning new products and features to commemorate the sub-brand, but the company did not provide any details. We’ll get more information throughout the next year, with the celebration concluding next March back at Sebring.
The track is important to Cadillac. It’s where the V-Series brand made its race debut with the CTS-V.R, which won in the SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge GT race. Cadillac is racing once again with the new V-Series.R hybrid race cars that’ll compete in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship races this year.
Cadillac has offered 13 different V-Series models over the last 20 years over four generations. The first saw Cadillac introduce the CTS-V, XLR-V, and STS-V. The CTS-V was the first to go on sale, which Cadillac developed on the race track, including the Nurburgring. The series’ second gen saw the introduction of the CTS-V wagon, coupe, and sedan.
The third generation would be the CTS-V’s last, joined by the smaller ATS-V for the first time. The current generation is the series’ most extensive, with two Blackwing models and the first Escalade-V. The Escalade is the brand’s best-selling model, and the V cranks out a potent 682 horsepower and 653 pound-feet of torque from its supercharged 6.2-liter V8 engine. It’s Cadillac’s most-powerful production model ever.
Cadillac says the V-Series.R hybrid race cars mark the start of the brand’s fifth generation. What that means for the product lineup remains to be seen. We know the CT5-V Blackwing will remain available as recent spy shots show the sedan readying a mid-cycle refresh.
It’ll be interesting to see how the V-Series fares in the face of General Motors’ electrification efforts. The Cadillac brand will unveil three new electric models in 2023 that are supposed to enter production in 2024. We hope the year-long celebration is the first of many for the performance brand.
