A new round of spy photos show Cadillac’s forthcoming CTS Coupe undergoing some final testing. Less than two weeks ago, photographers spotted a prototype with less disguise than ever before. These latest images show a car with slightly more black tape on its rear end, but with production taillights rather than the placeholders seen on the last tester.
Codenamed GMX226, the stylish couple will debut at the LA show, and will be built alongside the CTS sedan at the Lansing Grand River Plant. Production will start in May of 2009. The coupe will feature a backup camera which is not currently found on the sedan.
Thankfully, it appears that the majority of the concept’s lines have been faithfully duplicated on this production model. Some feared that the concept’s radical fastback design might be watered down, revealing the Coupe’s sedan roots, but our profile view proves these fears as unfounded. It appears that the production version may have a slightly more pronounced rear deck, but if that’s so, it’s not enough to significantly alter the concept’s silhouette.
The CTS Coupe prototype further separates itself from its sedan donor thanks to the elimination of a conventional door handle, adopting instead the concept’s Corvette-style design which hides the door trigger behind the door’s aft cut-line. The concept and production similarities continue with the Coupe’s revised lower side sill, and the distinctively sculpted waistline, which begins at the A-pillar/fender vent, and narrows as it stretches rearward. The camouflage hides whether or not the line terminates into the concept’s razor-sharp point at the C-pillar, but it looks likely that that’s another design convergence between the show- and production cars. Earlier photos also confirmed that the concept’s bold central exhaust will also reach showrooms.
There are some visible differences between the Detroit Show Standout and the production model. Cost and feasibility studies have killed the concept’s glass-to-glass side windows, in favor of a visible B-pillar on the production model. The rest of the changes are found in front of the A-pillar. The concept coupe’s large, CTS-V-style hood bulge is gone on this prototype (although we’d love to see it return on the “V” coupe). And the show car’s reshaped front fenders — which sweep more voluptuously to a revised front bumper, tweaked front ground-effects, and more dynamic headlight and fog-light clusters — appear to have been replaced with stock items from the CTS sedan. It looks to us like the CTS Coupe and sedan will share identical front fenders and front fascia designs. From there back, however, the cars could scarcely be more different. The drama of the CTS Coupe concept is alive and well, and on its way to Cadillac showrooms.
Although the CTS Coupe will bow at November’s show, it remains unclear when GM will take the wraps off the CTS-V Coupe. GM has promised the “V” coupe will hit the market at the same time (May 2009) as the regular two-door.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
2010 Cadillac CTS Coupe with almost no camo!
2009 Cadillac CTS-V
Driving through the backroads of semi-upstate New York, you begin to think that Deliverance was not filmed in the forests of Georgia, but instead, right here in an area that is probably two hours outside of New York City. We are cruising along the two-lane highways, past the Orange County Choppers factory/showroom of Paul, Paul Jr., and Mikey fame. Past firetraps masquerading as strip joints, to Monticello Motor Club. The most common vehicle around happens to be the high-riding F-150 pick-up truck with Yosemite Sam mud flaps. It’s a great drive with challenging roads. And a warning sign that has a bra hanging over it.
We are in the new 2009 Cadillac CTS-V. Not your father’s Caddy, nor that of rich Uncle Buck either, it is the ballsiest piece of sheetmetal to wear the Cadillac crest. The General has rented the club—sort of like a country club for wealthy gearheads, to give auto journalists a chance to thrash away at the latest offerings from the Milford Proving Grounds in suburban Detroit.
The CTS-V is the version 2.0 follow-up to the CTS-V that was based on the previous generation CTS. This one features a whole new set of cool bits that elevate the “V” to the level of “corporate badass.”
Logical competitors and benchmarks include the BMW M5, Audi S6, Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, and the like. It has been a constant game of one-upmanship for the past five or six years and that’s a game of which we really enjoy being a beneficiary.
Numerous. In addition to the LSA Supercharged V8, which we’ll get to in due course, the CTS-V now features Magnetic Ride Control, which Cadillac claims is the “world’s fastest-reacting suspension technology,” to using electro-magnets to control the shocks, which help to speed up the response time. Sensors constantly “read” the road, making constant adjustments of the suspension system to give more precise control of body motions.
Peel back a few more layers and you’ll find not so much a breakthrough, as a reason to build up the muscles in your right arm. A new six-speed manual transmission, this one by Tremec, is now available, along with a Hydra-Matic 6L90 six-speed automatic with paddle shift buttons. And Brembos. And Recaros. And Michelins. And more. It reads like a Who’s Who of performance goodies.
Like a sharply creased sedan with a purpose. We love the profile of the new CTS and the V just carries it along and then some. Perhaps borrowing inspiration from Mercedes-Benz’s placement of their trademark star in the center of the grille on their high performance cars, Cadillac has chosen to place the Crest in the center of the mesh-covered front end. But it does look like it is bigger! A power-bulge on the hood gives added clearance for the Eaton blower underneath. Returning are the side gills on either side of the fender. New CTS-V badging on the driver and passenger doors let the residents of the gated communities know this is not the CTS that takes them to the hair salon or the local Saks Fifth Avenue. The ultra swept back C-pillar provides a nice counterpoint to the wedge-shaped side cladding which leads to a rear end with high-mount brake light that doubles as a rear spoiler.
A blending of performance and luxury, you could say that if there was a four-door version of the Corvette, this is what its interior should look like. With a choice of standard performance seats or available Recaro sport seats, with adjustable side-bolsters, everybody sits just fine.
Hand stitching on the instrument and door panels as well as the center console gives the appearance of a designer interior in a performance car. Almost a “what’s wrong with this picture” moment. But in reality, there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s a welcomed addition.
The pop up monitor from the original CTS introduced a year ago makes a reappearance as the heart of the controls in the new “V.” Our concerns from that time had us questioning the intelligence of mounting a monitor with electric motor that pops up and down during subsequent operations. Our concerns appear to be unfounded. Gauges are well laid out in the instrument panel binnacle, and redundant controls abound all over the steering wheel. As do the transmission shifting buttons located on the wheel’s backside. We much prefer paddle shift levers rather than the nondescript push buttons on the V’s wheel. Generally, we think the interior and especially the center-stack is well laid-out, although at times it verges on busy.
Like a charging rhino. The first thing you notice is the whine of the Eaton twin-screw, four-lobe rotor supercharger. Hearing it spool up is music to any enthusiast’s ears, until it kicks you back into the nicely bolstered sport seats, and then it sounds even better. With an intercooler perched above it and aluminum alloy heads to fight excess engine heat, it is an engine that has been tuned to provide plenty of low end grunt as well as maintaining horsepower at the high end of the RPM range, in an area that tends to bleed off the horsepower produced by the superchargers. It works.
Producing 556-horsepower and 551 lb-ft of torque, the 6.2-liter LSA engine is a de-tuned version of the powerplant poking through the hood of the new ZR1 Corvettte. It is also a heavily cladded piece of art. Observing a demonstration model of the engine, sans cladding, it is a look that doesn’t need to be covered up by some lame piece of plastic with Cadillac badges all over it. We understand that there are no user-serviceable parts under the cover, but we are still curious how Audi is able to build an engine as beautifully as they do in their RS4, and still manage to keep it uncovered, to be admired.
Zero-60 mph clicks off at 3.9-seconds, while the quarter mile is achieved in 12-seconds, flat, at 118 mph. Let’s repeat: Zero-60 mph clicks off at 3.9-seconds, while the quarter mile is achieved in 12-seconds, flat, at 118 mph. Mileage, by the way, has yet to be determined. But at this point, does it matter?
The six-speed Tremec made for smooth shifting throughout the 4.2-mile road course at Monticello. Running up the back straight, which used to be the main runway of the Monticello airport, the GM small block wanted to keep going and going until the kink on the track appeared over the ridge. Squeezing the Brembo six-pot calipers in front and the four-pots in the rear, clamped the slotted and vented rotors, which helped to settle the CTS-V before its next sweeping right-hander.
Switching over to the six-speed Hydra-Matic gearbox, incidentally the first time an automatic has been available on the CTS-V, showed a transmission that was able to perform as seamlessly as possible on surface streets, yet still be able to stretch its legs on the highway or the race track. Switching gates on the automatic put the shift lever in the sport mode, effectively remapping engine shift points for quicker shifts and faster acceleration. With all the power on tap, Cadillac beefed up the limited slip differential and prop shaft for extra durability during extreme loads. The 4,200-pound (4,300 with the automatic) “V” rides on 19-inch Michelin PS2 Z-rated tires (255/40 up front and 285/35 out back) specifically designed for the car.
Handling is improved over the last model by use of the Magnetic Ride Control (MRC) in conjunction with the CTS-V’s multi-link independent rear suspension. A fast-reacting technology, it relies on shocks controlled by electro-magnet, rather than mechanical valves. The result is a faster response time because sensors at all four wheels are reading the road every millisecond causing different damping rates at a constant pace. Controlling the CTS-V in either Touring or Sport mode, MRC was first seen on the Cadillac STS, it has been utilized on several high performance European sleds as well as the Corvette.
As it sits, don’t expect to see many CTS-Vs parked inside Century Village. Pick up one, though, and you can be assured that there won’t be many others on the road that will be able to keep up with it. After all, this is the same car that lapped a circuit of the Nordschleife portion of the Nürburgring in under eight minutes (7:59:32) making it the fastest documented time for a production sedan.
Expected to hit market in the high $60,000s, it’s a bargain that can transport five comfortably and still run on track day at your local racetrack.
Pricing has yet to be determined for the 2009 Cadillac CTS-V.
Obama's new presidential limo is built like a tank, looks like a Cadillac
When Barack Obama hops into his presidential limousine after his inauguration on January 20, it might be this brand new rolling fortress that's part car, part truck. General Motors might be about to financially tank, but it's still putting the finishing touches on this real-world tank that'll soon be shiny and bear the presidential seal.
Most of the specs of this car are top secret, but a few tantalizing details are floating around, such as the five-inch-thick windows that are about half as transparent as regular glass and can stop projectiles from assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and high explosives. It's also said to be built of a combination of blast-proof ceramics and exotic metals, and certainly won't have a convertible top or sunroof.
While GM's trying to make it look like a Cadillac DTS, it's based on the company's line of heavy-duty 2500 trucks. For a fast getaway, it must have a giant engine under the hood. Because the presidential motorcade typically uses up to six decoy vehicles, there must be a mini-fleet of these behemoths on their way to the White House before too long.
Cadillac NART Zagato 1970 on eBay
Even with no further information, the name Cadillac NART Zagato is liable to raise an eyebrow or three among those in the automotive know—to say nothing of their probable reactions to hearing that such a thing is currently on sale at eBay Motors. 
Founding father of the North American Racing Team, Luigi Chinetti is said to be responsible for engineering this crossbred beast, which drew power from a mid-mounted, Eldorado-sourced 7.7-liter (472 cubic-inch) V-8, and was wrapped with a very continental body from the Italian Zagato. Caddy was also responsible for the basic chassis (also from an Eldo), as well as for the dashboard, steering column, brakes, and those unmistakable hubcaps. 
Perhaps even more striking than the wild aluminum body work though, is the fantastical Batmobile-styled interior of the car, complete with a ludicrously curved rear bench seat.
Credit: What's Up
2010 Cadillac SRX takes a swing at Lexus' RX
Cadillac invited a handful of local media to its Milford, MI proving grounds for an early "preview" drive of the second-generation SRX crossover. The first official media launch won't happen until late May, just ahead of the mid-summer on-sale date, but GM wanted to provide a sneak peak at the chassis and hardware underpinning the new SRX. Contrary to popular opinion, the SRX and the Saab 9-4X aren't built atop the Theta platform used for the Saturn Vue and Chevy Equinox. Both vehicles uses a mix of Theta pieces, bits from the Epsilon II platform and a host of new components to create a new premium crossover architecture.
Unfortunately, Michigan weather just didn't want to cooperate with the SRX. After an early event was cancelled due to unseasonably warm weather in February, GM decided to let us loose on a 50-mile local road loop to show off the SRX's new chassis control and vehicle dynamic systems. Read on to find out how it fared.
General Motors reportedly approves Cadillac Converj for production
At the Detroit Auto Show in January, General Motors surprised the crowd with a concept coupe called the Cadillac Converj. Built on the same Voltec platform as the Chevrolet Volt, the Converj was seen as a way for GM to leverage the pricey ER-EV drivetrain in a vehicle that could sell at a premium price, recovering some of the development costs. According to Motor Trend, the Converj has been given the green light for production in 2011, a year after the Volt launches. When we talked to GM's Bob Kruse at the Detroit show, he indicated a production Converj would likely use the same powertrain as the Volt, although it could have different calibrations to allow somewhat higher performance than the Chevrolet.
If the Converj does move forward, the proportions might have to change in order to use the same under-structure as the Volt. However, the larger stumbling block to building the Converj is money – or a lack thereof. Unless some kind of deal is struck between the Treasury and Energy Departments to allows GM to tap into ATVM loans, there won't be enough cash in GM's coffers to build the Converj.
1956 Cadillac Firemaker Custom by Pfaff Designs
(from Pfaff Design Press Release) This 1956 Cadillac Sedan de Ville spent its life on the American road, highlighted by long driving vacations to Mexico, Alaska and annual trips to Florida. With over 100,000 miles on the odometer, this icon of '50s luxury was parked in 1971 and was forgotten – until then-high school senior and now current owner Murray Pfaff found it languishing in storage in 1986. Neglected for 25 years and due to lose its place in a barn scheduled to be demolished to make way for a mall, the car caught young Pfaff's fancy. He asked his father for permission to buy it and rescue it from decay, but received a firm, “Over my dead body” in reply. Fortunately for the car and Murray, this Cadillac found safe haven until the purchase could finally be negotiated some 5 years later. 
First up for the behemoth was custom bodywork under the guidance of Matt Shamey of Watertown, NY. This includes over 300 hood louvers, recessed hood ornament, shaved handles, trim, and emblems, custom skirts, frenched antennas, filled bumpers, and a Carson style roof. Then Brother Dave and a collection of friends again stepped in to help get the Caddy road worthy in just under a year motivated by the original 365 cubic-inch V-8. Another 5 years had passed before the transplant of a 1976 Cadillac drive train began in Naples, FL. In order to help fit the 500-c.i.d. power plant under the hood, the firewall was recessed using a Jackson M-5 wheelbarrow. The big inch Cadillac motor benefits from high performance internals a polished Edelbrock intake, Holley Street Avenger carburetor, and plumbing from Earl’s.
From Florida, Pfaff moved to Northern California. There, the car got a complete repaint that Murray had designed himself. The flame job was generated by computer and was one of his earliest design explorations – one that would later lead to the creation of Pfaff Designs. Now located in Royal Oak, MI, Murray subjected the car to its fourth and most detailed make-over. This included brand new chrome, all new glass, and a new interior and paint scheme to complete the traditional yet modern look. Charlie Vickerie sprayed the new Pfaff-designed graphics using Glasurit paint. Jeff Shea created art in motion by applying some tasty pin stripping. The overall effect is a long, low, and imposing land yacht exuding a style that is sweet and undeniable.
Open the vault like doors and you find a leather wrapped dash with a custom punched and flared purple insert and speedo cluster liberated from a 1960 Cadillac. A modified 1960 Cadillac steering wheel proudly sits atop an Ididit column. A center console features the bullet housing with integrated gauges from Classic Instruments. Pat Russell at P.J.’s Trim Shop in Hemlock, MI. stitched together the leather hides to match the designer’s vision while encompassing the MTX sound system. A whole host of good friends, including Tom Gardner, Steve Langdon, Cliff McKillop, and Ed Pashukewich spent many sleepless nights bringing this incredible '56 Caddy to life.
To help achieve the right stance, the car was dropped to the ground using Air Ride Technologies Shock Waves. Another distinctive feature is the two different styles of rims and rubber. One side features BF Goodrich wide whites with 15” Astro Supremes, while the other sports Goodyear F1’s around a custom designed 18” Billet Specialties wheel. The two looks are very polarizing while attracting compliments from two different crowds. The car rides and drives like a dream which is important to Pfaff since he has logged over 85,000 miles himself behind the wheel. To say he enjoys driving this car is an understatement.
At the rear of this tour de force lies the reason for the car’s name: Just take a look at the exhaust and you will see that Murray is serious about his flames. The two-stage fuel injection system shoots fire more than 20 feet rearward! Pfaff often leaves two scorched trails behind him as his calling card. Whatever you do, don’t tailgate this big, bad Cadillac, as there's a good chance you're gonna' get burned by the FireMaker.
© Source: seriouswheels
More GM Cuts: Cadillac STS-V and Pontiac G6 GXP both gone for 2010
Pluto, the Roman god of Hades, is currently on a tour of the General Motors product garage and he's taking a few cars with him from the land of the living. After sending the Impala SS and the Cobalt SS to the underworld, he has just added to his collection the Cadillac STS-V and Pontiac G6 GXP – neither car will live to see next year. Truth be told, these cancellations are coming straight from the automaker's 2010 Online Order / Reference Guide for dealers, and we're only finding out about them as people dig deeper and deeper into the document.
GM banishing the STS-V makes sense, since it was underpowered and overpriced compared to the CTS-V, and your typical STS owner probably wasn't looking to get to his doctor's appointment faster than the speed of light. The G6 GXP, meanwhile, is not only hideously ugly in both two- and four-door versions, but a 252-hp coupe costing $26,595 is not a great value proposition these days. Heck, that's $3,500 more than the new V6 Camaro! While we mourn their loss of life and horsepower, we doubt many will miss the cars themselves, and we wish them well on their appointments with the boatman at the river Styx.
