2016 Cadillac CTS-V comes with 640 hp, orders to beat the Germans

"Fastest Cadillac ever" sounds like a superlative in search of an audience; are there that many people concerned with the top speed of Detroit's oldest luxury brand? Yet that crowd should start growing now with the first picture and facts on this car, the 2016 Cadillac CTS-V, a luxury sedan with the 640-hp heart of a Corvette Z06, and a mission to take the fight to the German performance sedans.

The supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 has been taken down a slight notch for duty as a luxury performer, off 10 hp and 20 lb-ft of torque (to 630) from its levels in the Z06. When yoked to the eight-speed automatic, also as seen in the Vette, Cadillac says the CTS-V can hurdle to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds and touch a top speed of 200 mph. Hence the new superlative.