Cadillac has confirmed that TTAC’s very own Jack Baruth will be allowed to compete in Bob Lutz’s SuperSedan Shootout (also known as the Cadillac V Series Challenge). The race will consist of five hot laps in any production sedan, and will take place at the Monticello Motor Club in upstate New York. Sadly, because of the time-trial format, we will not be treated to awesome footage of Jack putting Maximum Bob into the wall with some trademark “avoidable contact.” Still, TTAC’s resident speed freak will have the opportunity to take on GM’s resident cranky old man (as well as other bloggers) in a face-off that’s been nine years of online confrontation in the making. The only problem at this point is that the bastards at Jalopnik have stolen our whip…
Jalopnik is spinning the event as “Jalopnik vs. GM,” making the argument that because they were the first to respond to Lutz’s challenge (made during a conference call) the event is somehow theirs. Which is an interesting claim, considering the event is actually being organized by Cadillac’s publicity team. Still, it’s understandable that Jalopnik would want to remind the blogosphere that they are in fact still a car blog (as opposed to a Megan Fox/Transformers/airplane/meme blog). And if they don’t mind being mistaken for an arm of GM’s PR machine (and not for the first time), well, that’s between them and their readers. Just to be clear though, Jalopnik and TTAC will be among several media challengers, and there will also be a category for professional race drivers as well as a category for public challengers as well (sign up to race Lutz yourself here).
TTAC’s primary beef with Jalopnik has to do with their choice of chariots for the challenge. When Jalopnik first threw its hat into the ring, they said they’d pit their Wes Siler in a Mercedes C63 AMG against Lutz in his Cadillac CTS-V. Which sounded like a good first instinct, considering the C63 AMG is actually a bit cheaper than the CTS-V. When TTAC moved to be the second media challenger, Robert Farago’s impeccable taste and attention to engine output numbers (C63AMG pumps out 451 hp, XFR does 510 hp) led him to secure a Jaguar XFR for our challenge. Jaguar agreed, and we told the world.
Fast-forward to today, and Jalopnik has suddenly announced that they couldn’t get Mercedes to lend them a car, so they went in and snagged our Jag. Yes, seriously. Jalopnik’s Ray Wert wrote, in what may have been the world’s most condescending email, that “we’ll have an XFR there for Baruth.” Well excuse us if we aren’t falling over with gratitude. The record is pretty clear that TTAC publicly urinated on the XFR before Mercedes turned the Gawker-spawn down, and the very least they could do is acknowledge the fact. TTAC is looking into other possible vehicles, and if you happen to have, say, a Porsche Panamera that you’d like to lend to the TTAC cause, please shoot me an email at publisher@thetruthaboutcars.com.
Luckily, the Cadillac V-Series Challenge is not the only venue in which car blogs can take their pissing matches to the racetrack. The Skip Barber Racing School is holding a car blogger challenge to take place at Laguna Seca Raceway on October 31- November 1, in which car bloggers will go head-to-head in Barber-prepared Miata racers. Given Jalopnik’s scurrilous behavior in the lead-up to the Bob Lutz challenge, we hope they’ll send a representative to the Skip Barber race. Jack Baruth will be there with bells on, ready to clear up once and for all which car blog throws down the hottest lap.
Meanwhile, stay posted. The car blogging world has yet to see a spectacle quite like this.
64 Comments on “TTAC’s Jack Baruth To Take On GM’s Bob Lutz In Luxury Sedan Shootout...”
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This is great – nothing like a good ole fashioned pissing contest to liven up the blogs.
Does Brabus qualify? If so, may I suggest:
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/13/brabus-e-v12-black-baron-is-cloaked-for-speed/
I loves me a pissing match. I hope they are able to provide video footage of the whole ordeal.
This is just awesome, and Lutz deserves some praise for it.
Would have been good manners of Jag and/or Jalopnik to ask TTAC if it would be willing to share the XFR with Wes.
Quite funny that Jalopnik said they’d use the Mercedes, without checking with Mercedes first.
That is really unfair. Sorry to hear that. The world is filled with some matter of cruel people. I don’t like Japonik’s or jaguar’s reaction. I feel a bit angry, sad and scared about this kind of behavior.
I still say take a 335i or maybe a new S4 if possible. Fuck what anyone thinks, fuck perception, fuck image, fuck ignorance, and prestige. A choice I’m happy with is what matters most to me. Most everyone likes the CTS, 335i, S4, Jaguar, C63, and M3, but we each have our preferences and reality (budget). I think the Sedan I’d be happiest racing around in is an M5, that is the real reason I’d pick it. But I’d take almost anything there anyways, cause I’d have fun anyhow.
I think doing anything other then what one is happiest with is denial.
All of this has to be terribly embarrassing for BMW – no one even asked for an M5.
I wonder how much coin they sunk into engineering that V10 nobody is interested in.
The M3 sedan and the RS4 could be viable, too. Both lapped the Top Gear test track faster than the XFR (and the M5).
I wonder how much coin they sunk into engineering that V10 nobody is interested in.
Or that SMG transmission.
Don’t be angry – just say Tata to the Jag and find another car – maybe ask Toyota for a Prius – that should scare the competition
I can’t help thinking that all things relatively equal with the cars, Baruth should fairly easily beat Lutz because Baruth is half his age. At Lutz’s age, neural signals simply don’t transmit as quickly. My recollection is that Lutz is in his mid-70s, Baruth in his upper 30s.
th009,
I think they meant it in the vein of “marking territory,” the way my dog does.
I may have my road-going beefs with Baruth’s speedy shenanigans, but in the words of Bugs Bunny: “Of course you know, THIS means war!”
Go get ‘em Jack! Rub Wert’s nose in it by mopping the pit lane with Siler (not to mention Lutz).
Have Mehta hook you up with his Black Series.
th009: +1 on the M3. Sharper and more track oriented than the C63 or XFR and probably a better track weapon in the hands of an experienced driver.
Forget GM.
This is TTAC vs. Jalopnik.
Take a Lancer Evo or STi- that’d be hilarious to outrun them in an econobox.
Look out!
Just Signed up a 67 Coupe DeVille…
Wow, am surprised Jalopnik would stoop to that. No respect for that site anymore.
@carve,
+1
A Lancer Evo X could indeed be an excellent choice …
I’ll get a Prius and challenge Minimum Bob to take his CTS and see who will get further on one gallon of regular.
Since the 4-dr W16 Veyron Galibier sedan with its 1,001 HP would not qualify as a “production” car even if it was on sale today?
I would say it would be fun to see bob beat by a Lancia Delta HF Integrale 16v. Mainly because I think the car is cool. But I will say that whatever you guys choose, make sure its the same, or less, price-wise. If not, after you kick bob’s butt all he has to say is “sure, but look how much cheaper the caddy is” and we don’t want him to have any excuses. Beating him in a veyron or RS6 would not be saying much aside from the caddy not being the fastest car in the world, which we already know.
maybe a 1987 Mercedes AMG Hammer 300E 6.0? See him get beat by a production sedan thats more than 2 decades old?
Why don’t you just beat Lutz at his own game and bring a CTS-V?
SherbornSean :
All of this has to be terribly embarrassing for BMW – no one even asked for an M5.
I wonder how much coin they sunk into engineering that V10 nobody is interested in.
BMW E60 is just about to get replaced, so it won’t be fair comparing it to a new CTS-V. It should be compared to first generation of CTS-V.
Plus, M5 is normally aspirated engine and has 5-liter displacement, comparing to supercharged 6+ liter engine.
As for M3, it achieves same horsepower from 4-liter as Toyota IS-F from 5-liters.
Erm…Jack Baruth departed when R. Farago announced his own departure. How, then, is he “TTAC’s own”?
…Oh, wait, no, I see, he didn’t really mean it.
Is this thing open to the public?
I’m SO there!
Robert, Jack,
Need a photographer at the event? I thought this was going to be at Laguna – but Monticello, that’s pretty damn close afterall.
- Tommy
Farago!
I’m not going to race my Pontiac Vibe….. so I won’t be racing, but… I would like to show up and cheer for you guys! What would I do to ensure a spot in the bleachers??
REALLY, I AM INTERESTED, and I don’t see anything anywhere about becoming a well endowed spectator.
“October 13th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Why don’t you just beat Lutz at his own game and bring a CTS-V?”
because you will just prove his point. This is not about Lutz being a better driver, but the CTS-V being the most potent production sedan.
On a twisty track, however, the M5 would beat it, drivers being equal.
How about TTAC convinces MBZ to lend a C63 AMG? That would be salt in Jalopnik’s wounds.
The record is pretty clear that TTAC publicly urinated on the XFR before Mercedes turned the Gawker-spawn down, and the very least they could do is acknowledge the fact.
Am I reading this wrong? Shouldn’t it say that Jalopnik dissed the XFR?
Jalopnik’s Ray Wert wrote, in what may have been the world’s most condescending email, that “we’ll have an XFR there for Baruth.”
I guess your contact with Ray Wert so far has been pretty minimal then, Ed.
Justin: blessedly so, yes.
I’m looking forward to this. I haven’t seen the track before — and that matters more than you might think — but it should be more than amusing.
For the record, I asked Mr. Neidermeyer to get me a Hyundai Genesis 4.6, but apparently Hyundai wants to put their own guy behind the wheel.
Well the M3 is out because it’s a sedan challenge. But I’d say screw that anyways, take a cheapo WRX, STi, zoom zoom speed 3, or some other car that cost half as much and shove their face in it. Too bad Mustangs don’t come in four doors.
Ok, I don’t know about the other bloggers and how good they are, but I’m pretty sure you can kick Lutz’s butt without much trouble. If you wanted to beat everyone and assuming they got some good drivers in the mix, then you’d at least need an IS-F or M5, just to have enough power to keep up on the straights.
Too bad Hyundai doesn’t make anything hot enough, to beat a Lutz CTS-V in a unmodified Hyundai sedan would rock.
Jack: For the record, I asked Mr. Neidermeyer to get me a Hyundai Genesis 4.6, but apparently Hyundai wants to put their own guy behind the wheel.
My boss got one of those with a lower/stiffer suspension. Got to drive it and its pretty fast. My 2004 Audi A6 S-Line does 0-60 in 6.3 and the Genesis felt about that fast but at higher speeds the Genesis outperforms my Audi for sure. From reviews I have read, the Genesis 4.6 0-60 times range from 5.3 to 6.5 so its hard to say. But given what I have seen at high speeds in that thing, if conditions were perfect the race could be close.
One thing is for sure, the tighter suspension available for the 4.6 Genesis is friggin stiff. The potholes where I live have already thrown his alignment off once in the 2 months hes owned it…
edit: asked my boss and the suspension he got was aftermarket, installed by the dealer, not an official option for it. Which makes more sense as I would hope that a factory offered suspension would not be so harsh :)
Too bad you can’t get a GT-R drivetrain in a G-37 sedan body…
Has anybody considered the new SHO? I wouldn’t expect it to win, or even come close, versus the likes of CTS-V’s and RS4’s and whatnot, but I think it’d at least be a fun addition to the race.
YZS :
October 13th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Well the M3 is out because it’s a sedan challenge.
As far as I know (at least in Canada) M3 comes in three body styles: Coupe, Convertible and Sedan.
Has anybody considered the new SHO?
+1
Bring a Lancer Evo X MR to the dance, just for the lulz.
ClutchCarGo: Think territorial pissing…
I probably risk some serious censure by saying this but I hope Lutz comepletely destroys everyone there. It’s one thing to make your living in the auto biz and another to make your living ruthlessly critiquing it.
Just to make it fair to the writers/bloggers there should be a snarkiest comment contest at the end.
If you’re reading Mr. Lutz, I’d love to write some smartass comments for you to use after you win.
Defy odds, bring a wagon. MTM RS6 anyone? EVen the M5 or E63 variants would be nice to see.
Regardless, give Jalopnik what they deserve. I go to other sites to salivate at Megan Fox thank you very much.
@ pariah:
Has anybody considered the new SHO?
If my memory serves, I would think that Mr. Baruth would want an aftermarket brake upgrade after the experience he described in his TTAC review of the new SHO.
First Name: Jerry
Last Name: Seinfeld
Address: 138 West 83rd Street, New York, NY 10024
Birthdate: 04/29/1954
Make: Porsche
Model: Panamera Turbo
Year: 2010
In 50 words or less why do you want to join the CTS-V Challenge?: Isn’t it weird that this challenge is FROM GM? It seems like the real challenge is TO GM – accept my very public entry and the chance of losing under massively increased media scrutiny, or face Jack Baruth driving my Panamera after several track days as my guest at Monticello.
Holden Caprice,(or the proposed new Chevrolet Police Car)
Said it before, I’ll say it again: Wert’s a douche.
While I’ll have more on my entry tomorrow morning on Automotive Traveler, I’m throwing my hat into the ring with a left field entry, a 2009 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8. Be curious to see if the entry is accepted by GM. They might be able to say that it’s not a sedan — thus disqualifying my entry — but actually I like the fact that with AWD and great weight distribution, I might not be at as much of a disadvantage as one might think. I have a feeling that with a few laps practice, that mine will be a competitive effort. I’m certainly not going into this thinking that I’ll be embarrassing myself.
Plus this gives me a great excuse to go home and visit my family in New Jersey before the SEMA Show.
Richard Truesdell
Editorial Director, Automotive Traveler
http://automotivetraveler.com/jump/1333
This is pure, unadulterated, awesomeness. I like both Jalopnik and TTAC to be sure. But, I can not imagine the verbal abuse both will take if “Maximum” Lutz wipes the track with the bloggers best. Bring good rubber.
Merc, -10 rep and -pair’o'balls for cowardice. Your man penance is “Unforgiven”:
“it makes me sick to see a man struttin’ around and packin’ two pistols an’ a Henry rifle and cryin’ like a baby…”
“… an’ you will find a lot of them in the saloons… tramps an’ drunk teamsters an’ crazy miners… sportin’ pistols like they was bad men, but not having no sand nor character… not even bad character.”
So sayeth Little Bill.
http://www.sellascript.com/source/resources/screenplays/unforgiven.htm
Cadillac has the fastest Sedan for the money. No doubt. Is it the most fun? That is subjective. No one has anything to prove.
I like the CTS-V, even the first one. I don’t like the interiors so far though. It seems to be a really good car. Its not the end all be all, but its cool. Of course Cadillac and GM have the talent to build it. They also have a lot of crap wrong with the company. My question is how they this race be enjoyed and what can everyone including Bob get out of it. Life is trial and error.