2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe

2011 Cadillac CTS Premium Edition Coupe

by BRUCE HUBBARD

AUTO ADVISOR GROUP

The CTS Cadillac Coupe for 2011 has been applauded for its exterior design and performance. Changes since first introduced in 2003 make it one of the worlds best vehicles.  Some “Buff” magazines state it is the Best American Car.   We agree it is an exceptional vehicle. The CTS V model was given the award from Car and Driver  this year as one of their ten best cars for 2011.  The Coupe is a classic 2+2 layout bolstered with advanced technology, such as a rear-view camera system and a performance-oriented suspension system coupled to rear-wheel or all-wheel drive.

The CTS Coupe’s design carries over virtually unchanged from the concept car that was introduced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in 2008.

“CTS Coupe is the new focal point of Cadillac, expressing both our design and technical capabilities,” said Don Butler, Vice President – Cadillac Marketing. “It is intended to appeal to a new generation of car enthusiasts.”

“CTS Coupe is the new focal point of Cadillac, expressing both our design and technical capabilities,” said Don Butler, Vice President – Cadillac Marketing. “It is intended to appeal to a new generation of car enthusiasts.”

Cadillac states that the CTS Coupe is a new luxury sports coupe designed to become the centerpiece of the brand’s revised lineup. The lineup is the CTS Coupe we drove and the “monster high performance” CTS-V.

The CTS Coupe emerged as a proposal inside Cadillac’s dedicated design studio, where designers develop and evolve the brand’s Art and Science design philosophy.

“Cadillac has always been an emotional brand – it’s about delivering art regardless of body style,” said Max Wolff, director of exterior design for Cadillac. “With the CTS Coupe, it was about taking something very strong – the CTS Sport Sedan – and extending its potential.”

I walked around and photographed with my high resolution Canon EOS cameras. Every angle I saw was designed superbly. The camera images show that the Coupe is a wonderful vehicle to view from any angle. The Wedge shape was obvious. The straight and crisp lines of the headlamps and tail lamps are definitely all Cadillac.

Even the rear chromed dual center mounted exhaust have a design that makes the CTS stand out.

Our tester as seen in the photos was even an upgraded version known as the  Premium Collection Edition.  This is a drives vehicle. The CTS Coupe moves through the gears quickly and can handle every turn you dive into. The CTS Coupe Cadillac says has a number of adjustments in the chassis enabling crisper driving performance. Thanks to a superb suspension that includes an independent short/long arm (SLA) front suspension system, with hydraulic control arm front bushings; and a multi-link rear suspension mounted on a fully isolated subframe. The Coupe has a smaller 29mm front stabilizer bar (2 mm less than the Sedan,) while the rear bar is increased from 20mm to 24.5mm.  Damping force is firmer at all four corners, helping the Coupe reach 0.88g peak lateral acceleration in standard form, and more than 0.90 for the V-Series edition Cadillac states.

Braking, Stabilitrak and other intelligent computer controlled safety features are standard.

The quick acceleration is in part because engineers decided on an aggressive final drive gearing. The Coupe’s final drive ratio is 3.73:1, up from the 3.42:1 ratio of other CTS body styles, providing more responsive acceleration.Powerful brakes worked well throughout our week of testing. Little fade when used aggressively to bring the Coupe when traversing some of the best roads we could travel.  On all the roads we traveled the CTS Coupe was stuck to the pavement like a true sports car in part thanks to the larger tires and wheels.

The 3.6L Direct Injection gasoline engine delivers 304 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque, available at 6400 and 5200 rpm, respectively. As in the sedan, this engine comes with six-speed manual or automatic transmissions, the automatic features manual shifting via the shift lever or buttons on the back of the upper steering-wheel posts . All-wheel drive is available.

The CTS Coupe  runs on less expensive regular unleaded gasoline. Direct injection technology delivers fuel more precisely to increase the efficiency of combustion, enabling more power while maintaining fuel economy and lowering emissions – including a 25-percent drop in cold-start hydrocarbon emissions.  

The interior of the Cadillac CTS includes hand-sewn accents covering the door, center storage console and instrument panel trim. Available heated and ventilated seats incorporate  which Cadillac alls “thin-seat” technology for maximum occupant comfort and enhanced rear-seat leg, knee and foot room. Fourteen-way adjustable Recaro sport seats are optional, as is a heated wood steering wheel.  The Recaro seats are very firm and on a long journey can make your ride somewhat uncomfortable.

So many vehicles have superb sound systems and excellent Navigational systems. Cadillac has been a leader in this for years. The Navigational system also works well with the well known “On Star” system.  My only wish would be to do as some of the Infiniti vehicles have is the “BIRDS EYE “ cameras. Touch of a button and can view on navigation system every angle of the vehicle.   The Bose system integrated iPod/MP3 capability and  40-gig hard drive, including the ability to store music and pause-and-replay live radio.

As with other Cadillac models, the 2011 CTS Coupe and V-Series come with OnStar 9.0, which now offers Flexible Speech Recognition, , as well as signature OnStar services such as Automatic Crash Response and Turn-by-Turn Navigation. Flexible Speech Recognition extends the user-friendliness of the system, enabling it to respond to thousands of phrases and sentences, rather than a menu of exact words. It also now has far better recognition of thick regional dialects within the languages it serves (French, English, Spanish and Mandarin.)

The CTS Coupe we drove I love but if you must have the ultimate in performance then take a look at the 2011 CTS-V Coupe.

The CTS-V design features include a grille that doubles car’s air intake volume, an important enabler for its high-performance capabilities. It is also visually identified by a raised center section of the hood that provides clearance for the supercharger, as well as specific front and rear fascias. Like the CTS Coupe, its exhaust is centered inside the rear fascia, but with unique twin outlets. The CTS-V has rubber on 19-inch cast aluminum wheels, available in either painted or polished finishes, and Michelin Pilot Sport 2 performance tires.

Power for the V-Series Coupe comes from Cadillac’s LSA 6.2L supercharged V-8 engine, rated at 556 horsepower and 551 lb.-ft. of torque . It is the most powerful engine offered in Cadillac’s history and propels the CTS-V Coupe from 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds.  551 lb.-ft. at 3800 rpm, almost smack in the middle of the supercharged V-8's rev-band allowing you to adjust the CTS-V’s cornering angle with ease.  The best is if you want to turn the Stbilitrak off you can and then oversteer allows you to play.

The LSA engine on the CTS-V has the intercooled Eaton supercharger system, premium aluminum-alloy cylinder heads and numerous details designed to ensure it makes its power as quietly and smoothly as possible. The supercharger, for example, has a unique, four-lobe rotor design that enhances quietness while also optimizing the performance parameters of the engine.

A pair of six-speed transmissions is offered in the CTS-V Coupe: a Tremec TR6060 six-speed manual with a dual-disc clutch and a Hydra-Matic 6L90 six-speed automatic with paddle-shift control. Performance Algorithm Shifting is part of the 6L90’s programming and provides a performance-oriented shift pattern during sustained high-performance driving. As with many Cadillac models, the driver needs only to slide the shifter into the manual “gate” to put the transmission into that more aggressive mode. The paddle shift control requires no shift lever movement. Steering wheel thumb controls allow immediate and quick tap up/tap down gear selection.

The V-Series reaches elite levels of road-holding performance, but also maintains the poise of a luxury car in “regular” driving conditions. The technical enabler of that dual-mode driving character is Cadillac’s landmark Magnetic Ride Control. It is standard on the CTS-V Coupe and is the world’s fastest-reacting suspension technology. It uses shocks controlled by advanced magneto-rheological technology, rather than mechanical valves, to greatly accelerate response time and precision. GM first used the system on Corvette years ago that we tested at the GM proving grounds. Today they GM offers the system to other performance vehicle manufacturers.

Electronic sensors at all four wheels literally “read the road” every millisecond, making constant adjustments to damping to create virtually instantaneous and extremely precise control of body motions. The Magnetic Ride shocks also enable a broader range of damping control to optimize the ride and handling for all driving conditions. In the CTS-V Coupe, an extra measure of control is offered, with two selectable modes (Tour and Sport), enabling the driver to tailor the suspension for grand touring or more spirited performance driving.

CTS-V includes sophisticated braking and tire systems, in partnership with two companies renowned for high-performance technology: Brembo and Michelin. Brembo brakes are at all four corners and include powerful, six-piston calipers in the front and four-piston calipers in the rear.

Slotted and vented rotors enable strong initial braking force while optimizing heat resistance and eliminating fade. The brake rotors from Brembo employ a “dual-cast” technology that combines cast iron and aluminum, resulting in excellent performance and weight reduction. CTS-V also includes an electric parking brake, enabling more legroom for the driver, key for high-performance driving.

Michelin partnered with Cadillac engineers to develop its acclaimed Pilot Sport PS2 summer tire for CTS-V and its exclusive 19-inch alloy wheels. The tires support high levels of grip in track conditions, while also affording good performance on the road.

Recaro performance driving seats are optional in the CTS-V Coupe and provide excellent support for spirited driving. These 14-way adjustable performance seats include pneumatic bolster controls in the seat cushions and backrests.

The CTS-V Coupe also includes an exclusive new Saffron color option for the interior, providing a contrasting color accent carried on the seat inserts, as well as the stitching, which highlights the craftsmanship of the instrument panel, center console, door trim and seats.

The steering wheel, seat inserts and shifter are covered in microfiber, providing the luxurious character of suede without suede’s inherent drawbacks of difficult care and moisture sensitivity. These accents are standard, elegant to the touch and help support high-performance driving.

Cadillac with the CTS-V can be proud that they have delivered a performance luxury sports car.

Motor Trend states the following: “Cadillac's CTS-V is not just the best American sports sedan in history; it's also one of the best in the world. Period. Better than Jaguar's impressive XFR. Better than BMW's legendary M5. And so close to Mercedes-Benz's benchmark E63 AMG that choosing between the two is really down to personal taste and whether your pockets are deep enough to handle the German car's $25,000 price premium.”

Competition is abundant when we discuss the CTS Coupe standard version which  includes Infiniti G37 Coupe,  Audi A5, BMW 335i Coupe.

The CTS Coupe begins at nearly $39,000.00 for the rear wheel drive model. All-Wheel-Drive models start at $42,000.00 and move up to $50,000.00 plus without options.  The performance Luxury option will add another $4,000.00 MSRP.  If you want the CTS-V with all the options expect to pay over $63,000.00.

Gas guzzler tax is another $1300.00 for the CTS-V. 

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Brucehubbardphotography.ifp3.com