2006 Cadillac XLR V

Ever since being badly burned by the Allante, Cadillac has stayed far away from the personal luxury convertible market. The Allante was produced during the late 80’s and early 90’s, and bore the full brunt of Cadillac’s square-ish styling and front-wheel drive platform engineering. Overweight and underpowered, the Allante had a bad reputation from the day it appeared in showrooms until it unceremoniously slunk off into the sunset in 1993.

Buoyed by their recent success in the world of performance, Cadillac decided to take another stab at the market segment dominated almost completely by European manufacturers such as Mercedes and Jaguar. The 2006 Cadillac XLR-V is about as far away from an Allante as the Allante was from fun. This 2 door, 2 seat convertible monster sports a fire breathing V8 and enough horsepower to intimidate even the most stalwart European competitor.

Cadillac started out with the standard XLR convertible, which is normally powered by a 4.6 liter Northstar V8 generating 320 horsepower. While that may seem like nothing to sneeze at, for the nearly 4000 lb XLR, an upgrade was clearly needed in order to keep up with the big dogs of Euro performance. The Northstar engine was re-bored in order to increase the thickness of the cylinder walls, dropping the displacement to 4.4 liters but allowing for the application of a supercharger to increase power to a more than adequate 443 horsepower and 425 lb feet of torque.. The cylinder walls weren’t the only thing changed – more than half the components in the Northstar SC are different from the normally aspirated model. The engine was re-engineered to be so smooth that at most cruising rpm’s it is actually quieter than the standard XLR, even with the supercharger.

All of this newfound power vaults the XLR-V to 60 miles per hour in only 4.6 seconds. The quarter mile disappears in a mere 13 seconds, meaning that at most local drag strips you will be required to wear a helmet after your first pass. The engine is located behind the front axle for optimum weight distribution and center of gravity, and a 6 speed automatic sends all of that power to the rear wheels, where it gets gobbled up by huge 19 inch wheels shod with Pirelli tires. Suspension upgrades were also made to keep the XLR-V in check, and larger sway bars and improved steering response help keep the Cadillac’s nose pointed in the right direction. The car’s magnetic ride control automatically adjust the vehicle’s dampers to the optimal setting depending on which transmission program is selected by the driver, eliminating guesswork. Further keeping you on track are headlights which follow the steering wheel in order to help a driver see further through the corners at night, with 15 degrees of motion possible on the outward angle. Inside, the XLR-V is pure luxury, with hand stitched leather covering most of the interior, accented by a smattering of aluminum and wood trim.

The XLR-V starts at $100 000. It has been quite some time since Cadillac marketed a vehicle in the rarified air of the 6-figure stratosphere, but the company is confident that the XLR-V can compete with the Mercedes SL55 and BMW 650i convertibles on its own merits. When it comes to performance figures and cost, Cadillac is in good standing – the V undercuts both competitors by a large margin, yet doesn’t give up any advantage on the track. The question essentially for Cadillac revolves around whether buyers are willing to pay so much for a domestic automobile. The XLR-V is a world-class competitor deserving of serious attention from performance-minded luxury buyers.

Engine

• Engine Type: Supercharged 4.4L V8 VVT
• Horsepower/Torque: 443hp @ 6,400 rpm/
414 lb-ft @ 3,900 rpm

Transmission

• Standart Transmission: 6-speed automatic,
electronically controlled with overdrive and
Driver Shift Control
• Rear Axle Ration: 2.56






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May 6, 2008, 8:39 am