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Automotive

Hennessey's 1,226 horsepower Cadillac CTS-VR

By Loz Blain
September 24, 2012
Hennessey's 1,226 horsepower Cadillac CTS-VR
Hennessey's 1,226 horsepower CTS-VR1200 - a performance-tuned Cadillac CTS-V.
Hennessey's 1,226 horsepower CTS-VR1200 - a performance-tuned Cadillac CTS-V.
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Hennessey's 1,226 horsepower CTS-VR1200 - a performance-tuned Cadillac CTS-V.
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Hennessey's 1,226 horsepower CTS-VR1200 - a performance-tuned Cadillac CTS-V.
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Hennessey's 1,226 horsepower CTS-VR1200 - a performance-tuned Cadillac CTS-V.
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Hennessey's 1,226 horsepower CTS-VR1200 - a performance-tuned Cadillac CTS-V.
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Hennessey's 1,226 horsepower CTS-VR1200 - a performance-tuned Cadillac CTS-V.
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Hennessey's 1,226 horsepower CTS-VR1200 - a performance-tuned Cadillac CTS-V.
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Hennessey's 1,226 horsepower CTS-VR1200 - a performance-tuned Cadillac CTS-V.
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Hennessey's 1,226 horsepower CTS-VR1200 - a performance-tuned Cadillac CTS-V.
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Hennessey's 1,226 horsepower CTS-VR1200 - a performance-tuned Cadillac CTS-V.
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Hennessey's 1,226 horsepower CTS-VR1200 - a performance-tuned Cadillac CTS-V.
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The 2012 Cadillac CTS-V.
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The 2012 Cadillac CTS-V.
View gallery - 35 images

Talk about American muscle … Thumbing its nose at hippie ideals like fuel efficiency, the 6.2-litre Cadillac CTS-V is a monster muscle car in stock form, putting out 556 horsepower and 551 foot-pounds of torque straight out of the crate. But for those for whom too much is never enough, aftermarket tuner Hennessey Performance has released details of a souped-up "CTS-VR 1200" that brings together every performance upgrade in the Hennessey catalogue to produce an eye-watering 1,226 horsepower and 1,109 foot-pounds of torque. Handy if you need to tow a trailer … Just watch this thing light up on the dyno rollers.

Headquartered outside Houston, Texas, Hennessey Performance is a high-end performance tuning company that deals with all the major American brands, as well as a selection of European and Japanese models. It seems Hennessey's 2013 flagship model will be the VR1200, a 1,226 horsepower beast that's built out from the Cadillac CTS-V. In stock form, the Cadillac looks like this:

The 2012 Cadillac CTS-V.
The 2012 Cadillac CTS-V.

After the Hennessey treatment, it hits 60 mph (96 km/h) in 2.9 seconds, handles the quarter mile (0.4 km) in a shade over 10 seconds, sprints to around 242 mph (389 km/h), and looks like this:

Hennessey's 1,226 horsepower CTS-VR1200 - a performance-tuned Cadillac CTS-V.
Hennessey's 1,226 horsepower CTS-VR1200 - a performance-tuned Cadillac CTS-V.

Hennessey's 1,226 horsepower CTS-VR1200 - a performance-tuned Cadillac CTS-V.
Hennessey's 1,226 horsepower CTS-VR1200 - a performance-tuned Cadillac CTS-V.

Here's some of the upgrades involved:

Engine upgrades

  • 427 CID (7.0L) Aluminum V8 Engine
  • Forged Aluminum Pistons
  • Forged Steel Connecting Rods
  • Forged Steel Crankshaft
  • Balanced and Blueprinted Rotating Assembly
  • ARP Main Studs & Head Bolts
  • High Flow Cylinder Heads
  • Hennessey VR1200 Camshaft
  • Upgraded Fuel Injectors
  • Upgraded Fuel System (Includes Lines, Rails, Regulator & Pump)
  • Twin Ball Bearing, Billet Wheel Precision Turbochargers
  • Dual Wastegates
  • Adjustable Boost Controller (800, 1000 & 1226 HP power settings)
  • Stainless Steel Turbo Downpipes and Exhaust System
  • Air-to-Water Intercooler
  • High-Flow Air Induction System
  • Professional Installation
  • HPE Engine Management Calibration
  • Dyno Tuning & Road Testing
  • Hennessey Exterior Badging
  • Serial-Numbered Dash & Engine Plaques
  • 3 Year / 36,000 (57,936 km) Mile Limited Warranty

Transmission & Drivetrain Upgrades:

  • Manual: Centerforce Dual Friction Clutch Upgrade
  • Automatic: Performance Build & Torque Converter Upgrade (Add US$20,000)
  • Extreme Duty CV-Shaft Upgrade

Brembo Brake System Upgrades:

  • 15.1 inch Carbon Ceramic Rotors (Front & Rear)
  • Calipers: 8-Piston (Front); 6-Piston (Rear)

Wheels & Tire Upgrades:

  • Hennessey Wheels: 20x10 inch (Front); 20x13 inch (Rear)
  • Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires: 275/30YR-20 (Front); 345/30YR-20 (Rear)

Suspension Upgrades:

  • Lowered 1" (Front & Rear)
  • Upgraded Front and Rear Swaybars
  • Factory Magnetic Ride Control Tuned by John Heinricy

CarbonAero Widebody Body:

  • Carbon Fiber Front Splitter
  • Carbon Fiber Rear Diffuser
  • Carbon Fiber Front Fenders
  • Carbon Fiber Extractor Hood
  • Carbon Fiber Rear Fender Flares

Interior Upgrades:

  • Alcantara Headliner
  • Carbon Fiber Door Sills
  • Upgraded Leather & Stitching
  • Hennessey Embroidered Heardrests
  • Hennessey Premium Floormats

It sounds ever so slightly angry in this dyno video:

2013 Hennessey VR1200 Twin Turbo Coupe - Dyno Testing

Only 12 will be built, so if you like big biceps on your Caddie, you'll have to be quick. Get into the gallery to check out a boatload of pictures, or head over to the Hennessey site for more information.

View gallery - 35 images

Tags

AutomotiveCadillacTuningPerformanceHennessey
27 comments
Loz Blain
Loz Blain
Loz leads the New Atlas team as Editorial Director, after nearly two decades as one of our most versatile writers. He's also proven himself as a photographer, videographer, presenter, producer and podcast engineer. A graduate in Psychology, former business analyst and touring musician, he's covered just about everything for New Atlas, concentrating lately on clean energy, AI, humanoid robotics, next-gen aircraft, and the odd bit of music, motorcycles and automotive.

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27 comments
The Hoff
"Hippie ideals like fuel efficiency" is a wild eyed ignorance as to the day and age we live in. With no stats or video it must handle like a VW bug in the corners.
mrhuckfin
Almost makes me want to have a GM car again just to have this done to it? Love American muscle! :-)
Rocky Stefano
@Hoff. You know when I read comments like yours it makes me appreciate muscle cars even more. Its quite "likely" they didn't make this car with fuel efficiency in mind.
The Hoff
Have you ever seen the body builder who is so ridiculously over muscled that he walks like a an uncomfortable ape and looks like a freaky alien? That's what a muscle call looks like to me when it's trying to corner. I appreciate what the car maker is trying to say but it's a car that can't drive right. Ridiculous
WhyEyeWine
They are only going to make twelve, so we will never see a proper test of this beast. More specs might have given a better indication of how the car might handle. Weight and distribution of same come to mind. Clearly, the car is not meant to be driven; it is a statement: A fun project that shows the amount of excess you can place in one spot if you provide enough time, money and technical expertise. Besides all that, if you, yes you, were to have the opportunity to drive it...well, let's just say that if you survived, you still would have to live with the embarrassment of explaining what went wrong and how you turned the machine to rubble. This not the car for you; think: Ford Focus.
Synchro
That's a lot of power, but the performance isn't that great considering how much of it there is. I wonder how much it weighs? It's also mind-numbingly ugly; it can't seem to decide if it wants to be curvy or angular, so has random bits of both. I'd guess it probably can go round the odd corner - Hennessy know what they're doing, and it doesn't appear to follow the rocket-powered-sofa model of older muscle cars. Their Venom GT looks much prettier.
Slowburn
re; The Hoff
When a kid soups up his parents previous car he tends to get a car that is capable of going straight very fast. But there has always been muscle cars that handle well. When you see one of these going around corners you decide that it is not a muscle car because it does not conform to your idea of what a muscle car is.
Larry Hooten
lol An engine like that would work pretty well in a WWII PT boat! I wonder if it'd get better 'economy' than the old Packard engine...?
thekonger
Considering the CTS-V goes 0-60 in 3.9 seconds stock I don't think i would ever bother spending the money for an upgrade like this. Not only is it extra power you could never use, but it doesn't look nearly as elegant as the original. And @Hoff, the CTS-V was tuned to perform like a true sports car; it's gotten pretty high marks for its handling.
CliffG
GM, good luck meeting the new CAFE standards with this pig in your fleet. Are we headed towards another bailout? Will you ever get it?
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