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Cadillac has just revealed it will introduce a perception-altering, fuel-frugal, four-cylinder model in 2010 in response to the sudden price increases at the pump and impending stiffer fuel economy regulations.

But in the meantime — at an exclusive private motoring club in the Catskills north of New York — it has just launched a new model created to modify the way the world thinks about its cars in an entirely different way.

This one, with a more Cadillac-like eight cylinders, and really big ones at that, and a very un-Cadillac-like supercharger, consumes fuel at an absolutely prodigious rate — at least while propelling itself over the blind-crested kink in the tony Monticello Motor Club's main straight in fifth gear at better than 200 km/h.

There may be unalloyed irony in the coincidental end-of-August press introduction of the 6.2-litre, supercharged, 556-hp, V-8-engined CTS-V and the announcement at Pebble Beach that it intends to produce its first four-banger since the Cimarron of the early 80s. But this seeming juxtaposition of marketing directions reveals just how difficult it is to be Cadillac these days.

Introducing this latest ultra-high-performance version of its CTS mid-size sedan into the current climate might seem to fly in the face of common sense. Cadillac, however, sees it as a key element in the process of redefining the brand and shedding the last lingering remnants of its traditional geezer image.

It's proving a long uphill haul to convince younger buyers the Cadillac name can be a contemporary one. And the V-series models, introduced with the first-generation CTS-V, are quite literally all about blowing the cobwebs off the brand's laurel-wreathed coat of arms badge.

Product and marketing director John Hall put it this way. "They are our highest-performance, highest-technology products. With them, we're trying to dispel the notion that Cadillac isn't capable of competing with the best cars from Europe and other places."

He says the hope is it will help people see Cadillac in the same light as competitors such as BMW, Mercedes, Audi and Lexus.

Another executive noted that turning around its image means Cadillac has to overcompensate, be an overachiever. Well, it has certainly done that with the 2009 CTS-V.

Right out of the box, it went out this summer and set a new production "sedan" lap record on the Nordschleife circuit at Germany's notorious Nurburgring track: seven minutes, 59 seconds.

And a morning's drive on the highways and winding lanes leading to Monticello and a thrash on the track left me in no doubt the CTS-V has "made its bones."

The starting point for the car is, of course, the second-generation CTS — redesigned for 2008 — which brought with it a higher level of both style and technology, and which was created with the V-version in mind. "This isn't just a big motor in a Cadillac, this is a total system," says Chris Berube, lead development engineer on the car.

Exterior changes have been kept fairly subtle — although the front end is a little too chrome-y and over the top for my taste — to present a sophisticated, rather than "boy-racer," look.

But there's no hiding those forged, lightweight, 19-inch alloy wheels —shod with 255/40R19 front and 285/35R19 rear Michelin Pilot Sport 2s — and huge Brembo brakes. Or the unique rocker panels, rear fascia and spoiler. The latter helps keep it planted at its 307-km/h (191-mph) top speed.

Also unique to the CTS-V are optional racy Recaro seats, obsidian (piano-black) trim on the centre stack and console, the gauge cluster, the thicker-rimmed steering wheel that can be ordered with race-car-type suede covering and an electric parking brake.

The engine is as all-American as a GM small-block pushrod, two-valve per-cylinder V-8 can be — when taken to an extremely high level of sophistication. Helping it make its 556 hp at 6,100 rpm and 551 lb-ft of torque at 3,800 rpm is an Eaton-type supercharger with intercooler. Six-speed manual or automatic transmissions deliver this to the rear wheels.

The independent, short-arm/long-arm front and rear suspension is controlled by Cadillac's Magnetic Ride Control damping system. Electromagnets change the viscosity of an iron-particle-filled fluid to alter the damping rate within a millisecond to provide optimum control under any conditions.

The technology in the CTS-V is way too involved to go into further here.

On the road, the CTS-V proved eminently civilized. The seats fit like a pair of new Gucci loafers, just right, not tight. The climate control is effective. The audio system superb. Road and wind noise are virtually absent. Ride is firmly supple. And, if you chose the automatic, power delivery is virtually fluid. Unless you're imprudent enough to prod the pedal hard, which flips open the intake system's floodgates releasing a torrent of power.

On the track, it's another story. All that extraneous stuff magically disappears as your focus — and the car's — switches to sheer concentration of effort on the task at hand. The torque delivered by that big V-8 is simply huge. Acceleration is jet-liner-like, a four-second surge to 100 km/h.

But thanks to its electronic control systems, it's remarkably easy to drive at the limit — well, the limit your talent and the systems' restraint allow. And even with the systems switched off, at least as far as they'll go, it's still so nicely balanced that, even on short acquaintance with it and the track, you can take corners with those big Michelin Pilots humming. Very neat.

The CTS-V will be in showrooms by late October, priced at something over $70,000.

If you'd like to see that under-eight-minute lap of the Nordschleife, go to cadillac.gmblogs.com .

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2009 CADILLAC CTS-V

Type: Sports sedan

Price: $70,000-plus (estimated)

Engine: 6.2-litre, DOHC, V-8

Horsepower/torque: 556 hp/ 551 lb-ft

Transmission: Six-speed manual or automatic

Drive: Rear-wheel-drive

Fuel economy (litres/100 km): Not available; premium gas recommended

Alternatives: Variously priced hot rods such as BMW M3/M5, Lexus IS-F, Jaguar XF S/C, Infiniti G Coupe/Sedan, Nissan GT-R, Shelby GT500, Chevrolet Corvette, Porsche 911, Audi S6, Mercedes-Benz CLK550

Like

• Power delivery, with either automatic or manual transmission, is breathtaking
• I like how successfully Cadillac has delivered street refinement along with race-track capability
• It's not too expensive either

Don't like

• Front-end look is still a little glitzy

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Correction: The engine in the Cadillac CTS-V is a GM small-block, pushrod V-8. Incorrect information appeared in a specifications list Sept 18.