Cadillac’s stunning Grand Touring wagon is loaded for bear and in V-Series trim packs a nuclear payload!
2011 V-Series Sport Wagon can inhale six-figure sport sedans!
Before “soccer moms” were driving Minivans and SUVS, America’s suburban landscape was almost defined by “car-pooling moms” in six and nine-passenger station wagons. Iconic nameplates of the era included Ford Country Squire, Chrysler (pre-Minivan) Town & Country, Buick Estate Wagon, Oldsmobile VistaCruiser, Chevrolet Townsman and Kingswood and Plymouth Savoy. Then along came game-changing Mopar Minivans and Ford Explorers, followed by competitors, sending full-size station wagons to the top of the Endangered Species list!
Cadillac however is not a nameplate you usually associate with station wagons. Over the past 60 years Cadillac badging has been on everything from finned land yachts to SUVs and two-place sports/luxury roadsters, but no station wagons. During the 1960s and 1970s, select Cadillac dealers sold new four-door Fleetwood and two-door Eldorado station wagons produced by customizers or “converters.”
Specialty shops that built Cadillac station wagons in the U.S. followed in the footsteps of European coachbuilders who, since the 1920s, created Estate Wagons or “Shooting Brakes.” It all started with wagon-converted four-door luxury cars, often built on factory-supplied rolling chassis. Modern era Shooting Brakes tend to be reconfigured sport coupes and two-door sedans.
CTS Sport Wagon looks right at home at the tony Woodstock Inn.
For the 2010 model year Cadillac added a station wagon to its CTS lineup. The rakish CTS Sport Wagon, available in rear or all-wheel drive and with direct injection 3.0 or 3.6-liter DOHC V-6 engines, packaged all the technology and amenities one would expect in a luxury vehicle. Cadillac has raised the bar with its 2011 Sport Wagons, with 304-horsepower 3.6 V-6 or 556-horsepower supercharged 6.2 Corvette V-8 power.
The Sport wagon is a rolling showcase for Cadillac’s Art & Science styling that incorporates sharp sheer forms and crispness inspired by military stealth aircraft. Art & Science styling appeared first on the Evoq concept car, designed by Kip Wasenko and revealed at the 1999 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. It morphed into the production XLR. It was under the leadership of retired GM Design VP, Wayne Cherry, that Art & Science styling catapulted Cadillac onto the world stage.
Since I had recently driven (and fallen in love with) a CTS-V (http://www.carguychronicles.com/2010/03/cadillac-cts-v-wolf-in-wolfs-clothing.html) I thought I’d try a new Sport Wagon powered by the free-revving, direct injection 3.6-Liter DOHC V-6. Under almost all conditions experienced in my 600-plus mile drive, the 10.2-to-1 V-6, right, with continuously variable cam (intake and exhaust) phasing rated at 304 horsepower performed like a V-8. My test route was New York City to Woodstock, VT with routing by Sat-Nav with XM traffic service. At steady highway speeds of 65 to 75 mph, it delivered almost 28 mpg. EPA ratings for this vehicle are 18 CITY MPG/26 HIGHWAY MPG. Unlike most high performance import wagons, the 3.6 Caddy runs on Regular fuel.
Even when fitted with 19-inch “Summer” tires, included in the $2,090 19-INCH SUMMER TIRE PERFORMANCE OPTION, our test car’s ride quality could best be described as “refined.” Over less than smooth roads, you are made aware that the package also includes FE3 sport suspension. Other components include high-performance brakes and cooling system, polished wheels and steering wheel shift (paddles) controls. Starting with an MSRP of $48,665, our fully loaded Premium Collection Sport Wagon listed for $52,785.
Aggressively styled CTS Wagon looks fast standing still!
On the highway, negotiating secondary roads and climbing unpaved hills, the rear-wheel-drive CTS revealed superb chassis/platform development, great steering and precise brakes. The structurally-enhancing tower-to-tower underhood brace, far more substantial than vintage Monte Carlo Rally bars used on Shelby and competition Mustangs, is the first thing that grabs your attention when popping the hood. It looks like it belongs on a racecar!
Rob Murphy thought the Sport Wagon's body looked as though it had been "hewn from a solid block of granite."
In Woodstock we visited with contemporary artist, friend and certifiable car guy, Robert Murphy. Since I knew he had to transport some of his sculptures while we would be there, I thought it would be a great opportunity to get his feedback on the functionality and styling as well as overall experience of driving the CTS Sport Wagon.
While Rob is not an automotive artist it was a timeless classic and one of his favorites, a Mercedes-Benz 300SL, that influenced him when he created one of the pieces in his “world of dreamscapes” series of figurative sculptures. He saw the 1955 Gullwing at SPEED, STYLE, AND BEAUTY (cars from Ralph Lauren’s collection) at the (Boston) Museum of Fine Arts in 2005. It was the first time he had seen a 300SL in an art museum.
He later captured the iconic silhouette of Lauren’s Gullwing with its doors open in his bronze, soapstone and steel sculpture, I DREAMT I WAS A BIRD. Created in 2006-2007, the 55-inch-tall piece, right, has two bronze figures, one with arms upswept, and is in a private collection. Robert Murphy’s work can be seen at http://www.robertomurphy.com/.
“Rakish, muscular, and stable are descriptors which leapt into my consciousness when first viewing the CTS Sport Wagon,” said Rob Murphy.
“Its lines are angular, crisp and, in a more modernist way, sculptural. The visual attributes, enhanced by sport trim and Thunder Gray Chromaflair paint, a $995.00 option, exude a sensation of the body having been hewn from a solid block of granite. Even when standing still, the CTS Sport Wagon gives the appearance of being in fluid motion.”
Cadillac also did an outstanding job designing the interior space of the Sport Wagon. Front and rear seating is spacious and you’re surrounded by quality hand-stitched leather accents, Sapele wood and full-power leather seats. Pop the power liftgate and you have access to a beautifully detailed stowage area, replete with secure storage bin and, with the rear (pass-thru) seat folded, 58 cubic feet of cargo volume. With the rear seat up, there’s approximately 25 cubic feet available. Slick tracks along each side of the cargo floor with vinyl-coated adjustable tie-down anchors came in handy when Rob, right, below, used the wagon to transport sculptures.
“The Sport Wagon’s interior is as clean and well appointed as any interior can be in a luxury automobile festooned with controls, gadgets and screens. While I spent a relatively short amount of time in the seats they were comfortable enough. Although I personally would have wanted more side bolstering, like the optional V-Series Recaros offer, in what is considered a sport model,” added Rob.
“What did bother me, however, was that with the six-speed HM 6L50 in Sport mode, the paddle shifters - which feel like little more than gratuitous, silvery buttons - quickly get lost in the act of turning. Furthering that experience is what feels like an over-sized steering wheel making far too many revolutions to execute even the flattest of curves. They do work well during straight-line acceleration.”
As far as performance is concerned, there’s much to celebrate. The precise ZF Servotronic power rack and pinion steering, StabiliTrak electronic stability control, traction control, big brakes, limited slip differential and 19-inch Continental SportContact 3 tires, contribute to making Cadillac’s Sport Wagon handle and perform like a sport sedan. One option, Xenon HID Adaptive Forward Lighting, really came in handy negotiating dark, unpaved hills around Woodstock. The high-tech headlights follow vehicle steering and can be a lifesaver. The Sport Wagon is surprisingly quick in 3.6 trim, sprinting to 60 mph in the high 6s, low 7s. And it sounds good making the trip!
Rearview camera helps make up for small back window.
“Under some throttle, there was just enough of a sonorous exhaust note to remind you of the car's possibilities and that it’s not your father’s Cadillac,” said Rob.
Cadillac’s Sport Wagon with 3.6 V-6 power is capable of embarrassing luxury import wagons costing thousands more. If you opt for the V-Series road rocket with supercharged small-block and choice of six-speed HM 6L90 automatic or Tremec TR6060 manual transmission, you’ll be able to inhale sport sedans costing tens of thousands more!
The 2011 CTS-V Sport Wagon will be available at U.S. Cadillac dealers later this year, with pricing from $62,990, including destination. With a 556-horsepower V-8, the 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Wagon accelerates from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 4.0 seconds!
For more information about 2011 Cadillac vehicles, please visit, http://www.cadillac.com/
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