Cadillac Performance Academy Turns Owners Into Drivers

Cadillac knows that one does not simply push the limits of their 556 horse power Cadillac CTS-V on the average street, says Yahoo Autos. Such as thing tends to get one some hefty traffic violations.

You can’t have tag team drag races, drive it up to 100 miles per hour, or develop the skill to slide through a corner unless you get yourself enrolled at the Cadillac V-Series Performance Academy at Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump, Nevada.

Much like Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac started the V-Series Performance Academy three years ago to allow owners with the need for speed an outlet and possibly fine tune their skills behind the wheel. It also allows Cadillac to show off the power behind the engines of their CTS-V coupe, wagon, and sedan.

The rear-wheel drive CTS-V sports a 6.2 liter supercharged V-8 engine and a few race specific upgrades. Pushing 556 hp and 551 foot-pounds of torque, it thunders from 0 – 60 miles per hour in 4.0 seconds and tops out at 198 miles per hour. If it were a muscle car, you could see Vin Diesel driving it.

Don Harple, Cadillac’s performance driving director, won’t even let you turn the wheel at those speeds without a classroom lecture on seat position, where to grip the steering wheel, proper driver position, and more.

He tells you to look ahead: The faster you go, the further you look ahead, and let your hands and feet bring you there. Drive only fast enough that the tires don’t lose their grip on the road, and know how to get that grip back if you lose it. Make the maximum available turn radius to avoid sacrificing speed.

Most important of all, never lose control of yourself. Road rage is not helpful, ever.

All in all, Harple knows his stuff and cares enough about it to help potential race drivers avoid planting their V-Series Cadillac into a wall.

If you have some time on your hands and the $950 fee, this academy could turn you from just an owner into a driver.