Caddy will unveil the high-performance CTS-V Sport Wagon at the New York International Auto Show.
What is it about station wagons American motorists just don get? In Europe, wagons are hip and hot, but State-side, they still have an image of being old and out-of-date, a remnant of the Leave it to Beaver era.
Perhaps the 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon can help remake that notion. Making its debut at this week’s New York International Auto Show, it’s anything but stodgy with its striking Midnight Silver paint – and a 556-horsepower supercharged V8.
The high performance wagon is the latest addition to Cadillac’s growing V-Series line-up. (Think “V” as in “velocity, suggests General Motors’ soon-to-retire Vice Chairman Bob Lutz.) And it adds yet another spin to the expanding list of variants from Caddy’s entry model, the edgy CTS.
“The CTS-V Sport Wagon is a natural extension of both the V-Series and the CTS lineup, offering an uncompromising performance car to enthusiasts who want the extra room of a wagon,” said Don Butler, vice president for Cadillac marketing.
The 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon featurs a 556-hp supercharged 6.2-liter V8.
Visually, the V-version makes some dramatic tweaks to the basic CTS Sport Wagon, starting with that Midnight Silver paint, which first appeared on the Cadillac Sixteen concept car, a few years back. Add complimentary liquid silver-finsh wheels and a black chrome mesh grille. The show car version of the 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon also gets unique front and rear fascias and high-mounted stop light.
Like the V-sedan, the lightweight aluminum hood of Caddy’s Sport Wagon has been raised to make room for the V8’s supercharger.
The interior is trimmed in black Alcantara, with midnight black Sapele wood accents. The show car gets unique Recaro seats, with Obsidian Black accents completing the look.
While the various colors aren’t on the option list for the production car, Caddy officials concede they’ll be gauging public reaction at New York’s Jacob Javits Center and could add some of these features to the option list in the near future.
Minus the Midnight Silver, the 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon will begin rolling into showrooms late this year. The heart of the car is the turbocharged 6.2-liter V-8 borrowed from the CTS-V sedan. It’s available mated to either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic. A cast iron limited slip differential helps manage “performance hop,” under hard acceleration.
The V wagon shares the performance sedan’s Magnetic Ride Control system, which is able to respond to changes in road conditions and driver input in mere milliseconds. The wagon rides on 19-inch Michelin Pilot PS2 performance tires. And to complete the package, the 2011 CTS-V Sport Wagon gets Brembo brakes, 6-piston calipers up front, fours in the rear.
Fuel economy is a reported 14 mpg City/19 Highway.