Emelia Hartford buys a 2017 Cadillac CTS-V that was flagged stolen after a long search and discovers a 'big surprise'

A Cadillac CTS-V with a stolen car history isn’t usually at the top of anyone’s wishlist, but YouTuber and well-known gearhead Emelia Hartford isn’t exactly a typical buyer.

After years of searching for the perfect spec, she finally stumbled across one that seemed to tick every box.

The price was right, the condition looked flawless, and everything pointed to a dream car.

There was just one small detail that made the whole thing feel a little too good to be true.

The car was well worth a thorough investigation

Hartford had been on the hunt for a third-generation 2017 Cadillac CTS-V for a long time.

The checklist was strict.

The car had to have a clean title, have minimal modifications, and be well-kept.

Perhaps most importantly, it couldn’t be ridiculously overpriced.

As you might expect, finding all of that in one car wasn’t easy.

So when this particular example popped up at the right price, she was delighted.

However, there was a small problem: a quick look at the car’s history revealed it had been flagged as stolen.

That’s usually enough to send most buyers running, especially since high-performance cars are often driven hard after theft.

Despite the dodgy history, Hartford still went to see the car in person.

That’s when the story started to shift.

According to the previous owner, the Cadillac wasn’t a stolen car at all.

Someone had attempted to break in, damaging a window before being chased off.

Insurance got involved, the window was replaced with factory glass, and the incident was logged as a theft on the vehicle’s history.

This meant it was actually a clean title car, albeit with a slightly scary backstory.

The Cadillac CTS-V was in pristine shape

Under the hood sat the familiar 6.2-liter supercharged LT4 V8, originally pushing out 640hp and 630lb-ft of torque.

But it didn’t take long for Hartford and her team to realize this CTS-V wasn’t entirely stock.

An upgraded pulley, intake, and headers hinted at extra power, while additional fuel lines suggested there could be even more going on beneath the surface.

Hartford and her team dove straight into the build, with carbon fiber upgrades and new wheels in the works.

And despite its luxury looks and four-door practicality, the CTS-V still delivers serious performance, with brutal acceleration that caught even passengers off guard.

Now, here’s the twist.

As much as Hartford clearly loves the car, she’s planning to give it away, along with $10,000 in cash, as part of a new merch campaign.

Yes, after all of the trouble she went through, she’s not even going to keep it.

If you want to learn more about the car, check out her full video below:

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