Cadillac CTS-V round Nurburgring

One more Nurburgring record for the books and this time its courtesy of the Cadillac CTS-V. Driven by driver John Heinricy it managed to break the 8 min barrier in a time of 7m 59.32s around the Nordschleife of the Nurburgring. Impressive for an American brand which had a reputation for barge-like cars with equally sloshy handling, but even more impressive when you factor in the fact that the car - besides a fire suppression system, harness bar and six-point seatbelt - the CTS-V was completely stock. Which says much about the type of tire fitted to the CTS-V and the enormous 6.2l V8 under the bonnet which produces 550bhp and 550lb ft of torque. Most of all, it's testimony to the tremendous amount of effort GM's engineers have put into this car to put it in contention with the likes of Mercedes' AMG and BMW's M Division.

Bring on the Germans.