The same friend who let me off the leash in a Weistec tuned Mercedes-AMG E63 offered me some seat time in his current ride- a Lingenfelter CTS-V sedan with the automatic. Lingenfeler claims 700 hp at the crank, and my friend has a dyno sheet showing 640 hp at the wheels. As usual, my pal wanted me to do a burnout- and I obliged him(it's fitted with drag radials, by the way):
The only acceleration numbers I could find were in a Car and Driver test of a Lingenfelter CTS-V coupe equipped with a manual- and it verified that the car is as fast as it feels; it beats a new 911 Carrera 4 PDK Automatic to 150 mph by 4.4 seconds. It needs just 7.9 seconds to reach 100 mph. In normal driving the car is as docile as a stock CTS-V. This car has a Magnaflow cat-back so it rumbles a bit around town but quiets down on the road. The automatic reminded me of the ZF 8HP45 in my 2 Series; it does what you tell it to do right now. I didn't push the car much in the corners, what with the PSS tires on the front and drag radials on the back, but the steering has good feel and accuracy while the suspension seemed relatively taut on even the softest setting. The brake effort is high but the action is very progressive. The seats are comfortable and everything seemed to be screwed together well- no rattles or squeaks. I gravitate to smaller cars, but I definitely see the appeal of having a rocket sled like this sitting in the garage. A rocket sled with heated/cooled leather seats is an enticing proposition...
The only acceleration numbers I could find were in a Car and Driver test of a Lingenfelter CTS-V coupe equipped with a manual- and it verified that the car is as fast as it feels; it beats a new 911 Carrera 4 PDK Automatic to 150 mph by 4.4 seconds. It needs just 7.9 seconds to reach 100 mph. In normal driving the car is as docile as a stock CTS-V. This car has a Magnaflow cat-back so it rumbles a bit around town but quiets down on the road. The automatic reminded me of the ZF 8HP45 in my 2 Series; it does what you tell it to do right now. I didn't push the car much in the corners, what with the PSS tires on the front and drag radials on the back, but the steering has good feel and accuracy while the suspension seemed relatively taut on even the softest setting. The brake effort is high but the action is very progressive. The seats are comfortable and everything seemed to be screwed together well- no rattles or squeaks. I gravitate to smaller cars, but I definitely see the appeal of having a rocket sled like this sitting in the garage. A rocket sled with heated/cooled leather seats is an enticing proposition...