Cadillac once set the standard for the world when it came to luxury cars, though they lost their way for a while in the 80’s and 90’s. Cadillac is back, though in the meantime ze Germans have come to dominate the luxury vehicle market even here in America. To beat the Germans, GM would have to produce capable luxury cars with a penchant for performance.

What better way to do that than tackling the famed Nurburgring, Germany’s motorsports epicenter. GM recently released this video, and towards the end mentions a lap time that would put it on par with Germany’s premier compact sports sedan, the BMW 3-series.

The ATS is being called the most important Cadillac ever built, and we get a chance to hear its new turbocharged 2.0 liter engine zipping down the famous Nurburgring. Other engines could include a twin-turbo V6, and even a V8, but the base engine will probably be the 2.0 liter turbo. GM is taking the performance aspect of the ATS very seriously, and with good cause; it’s primary competitor will be the BMW 3-series, which has dominated the luxury sports sedan segment for some time now.

Judging from the video, the ATS in this video is not a road-going model, unless racing seats and a roll bar are an option. Towards the end of the video the ATS drives by a man with a stop match, who rattles off a time of 8 minutes and 28.09 seconds. That would put it in the same territory as the last-generation of BMW 3-series sedans… though a new lineup of all-turbocharged 3-series was just announced this morning. So is the ATS chasing a goal line, even as the endzone moves? Or can GM really take down BMW on its own turf?