SuperCar ShootOut

[Gothicaleigh]

The Mallett CTS-V won the annual Automobile magazine SuperCar ShootOut. The article is in the November issue.

7th Place - 2003 Hoppen/MTM Audi RS6

6th Place - 2002 Active Autowerke BMW M3

5th Place - 2003 RENNtech Mercedes CL55

4th/3rd Place (tie) - 2004 HPA Motorsports Stage II Twin Turbo Volkwagen R32 / 2004 Lingenfelter 427 Cadillac CTS-V

2nd Place - 2003 Vishnu Mitsubishi Lancer Evo

:bow:

1st Place - 2004 Mallett Cadillac CTS-V
Street Drivability: 4 out of 5 (five being as well mannered as when stock)
1/4 mile: 12.4 sec @ 125 mph
Road Course: 50.8 sec
Braking, 150-0: 740 ft. (using stock brakes and rotors)
Total Course Time: 103.9 sec

As a member of the bigger-hammer school of tuning, Chuck Mallett is aptly named, and this CTS-V is a prime example of his work. Owned by John Bender, the car made it's competition debut in last May's One Lap Of America, finishing second in the Luxury Sedan Class. But it was clear that winning the Sedan Class in this shootout would take more. More is Mallett's specialty. The stock 5.7L V8 was replaced by a 7.1L V8 block (of LeMans Corvette fame), a billet crank, and forged pistons from GM Motorsports. The heads are Corvette LS6 with stainless steel headers. The V8 is force-fed by a Vortech supercharger with a Garrett/Vortech inter-cooler blowing at "about 16 to 17 psi," according to Mallett, who adds, "I'm quoting 750hp."

Considering it's vast output and ferocious Corsa-muffler exhaust note, the Mallett-massaged Caddy was surprisingly manageable in the public-road portion of our show. Nevertheless, it makes the forward progress of a standard CTS-V seem fairly tame. Punch the throttle, and you're pasted to the driver seat like cake batter as the car leaps forward like some great primordial beast. Habit forming.

There's more to this mad Mallett than just motor: double-adjustable coil-over shocks, heftier anti-roll bars, HRE 18-inch forged aluminum wheels with Michelin Pilot-Sport PS2 tires, and an intriguing and perhaps unwise touch: a brake kit that included a set of lightweight $5000 titanium rotors. The titanium-brake setup didn't perform to expectations. We weren't surprised because titanium rotors can't match iron for thermal capacity or conductivity. The car's first MIS run produced a stop from 150 mph that was in excess of a quarter mile, whereupon the CTS went back to stock brakes in the interest of safety. Mallett says it wasn't the fault of the brakes but his, because he used the wrong pads and grooved the titanium rotors. Maybe, but we're still skeptical about the effectiveness of these exotic rotors.

The Caddy was also extremely hard to launch, thanks to it's stability system, which refused to be fully switched off, producing a huge bog leaving the line. But on it's final pass, the CTS finally hooked up, knocking almost a full second off it's quarter mile time and nipping the Vishnu Evo by 0.2 second for the day's fastest Sedan Class run. The secret? "We turned on the A/C," says Mallett.

Mallett muscle doesn't come cheap. The powertrain package alone lists for $58,545, and the total as-tested price comes to $120,365. On the other hand, this is just about the baddest Caddy around. John Bender can hardly wait for One Lap 2005.

It posts competitive stopping distances with the stock brake system. That is impressive. I wonder what distances those titanium rotors are good for, had Mallett brought along the correct pads?

It also seems appropriate that a Cadillac would post it's best time with the A/C on too. Racing in style and comfort.

:gr_hail:

 

[JoshMcMadMac]

I thought it was the Car & Driver Supercar Challenge?

http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=15&article_id=8719

Whatever it was, the Mallet Caddy looks phenomenal. This year they seperated the "sedan" and "open" class, so it wasn't put up against the Vettes and Vipers, but I think that is fair.