General Motors unleashed a barrage of concept vehicles at this year’s Detroit Auto Show — including the Saturn Flextreme and Vue Plug-in Hybrid and the Cadillac Provoq — but one concept seemed to stand out above the rest: the Cadillac CTS coupe concept.
The CTS coupe stood out in the crowd for two reasons: its handsome evolution of Cadillac’s Art and Science design theme and its apparent readiness to roll off the assembly line. Leftlane was lucky enough to sit down with the man responsible for both attributes, John Manoogian, Director of Exterior Design for Cadillac.
While the average age of a Cadillac buyer is typically higher than other GM brands –excluding Buick — Manoogian designed the CTS coupe with the younger buyer in mind. Just as the G37 coupe has drawn a younger crowd into Infiniti showrooms, Cadillac hopes that the CTS coupe could have the same effect on its showroom traffic. By the looks of the crowd gathering around the CTS coupe after its unveiling, we think Manoogian and Cadillac is on to something.
Three design cues — outside of the two door body style — really stand out on the CTS: the steeply raked rear window, a distinctive center line and the hint of tail fins on the rear taillights. While the CTS coupe has the appearance of a hatchback, it actually has a conventional trunk — and a larger one than you might expect. The slanted rear seats allow for a deep cargo area, although Manoogian says the opening isn’t very wide. But the CTS coupe’s wasn’t intended “to haul things home from Costco,” as Manoogian put it.
The center crease is carried over from the interior of the CTS sedan and Manoogian says its to pay homage to the classic Cadillac’s of the 1960s. While some might object to the bold styling cue, it perfectly accents the brand’s Art and Science design philosophy and coveys a sense of motion. If nothing else, its gives the CTS coupe a styling that is all its own.
While the hint of a tail fin on the taillights seems to hearken back to Cadillac’s golden age, Manoogian says it was to give the car a modern look without going down the retro path. Instead, Manoogian says that the design cue is to emphasize the Cadillac brand’s use of vertical taillights, and he doesn’t expect tail fins to come back in style anytime soon.
And then there was the obvious question — will GM build it? Manoogian stopped short of saying that the project had the green light, but we’re willing to bet the farm that the CTS coupe will show up in Cadillac showrooms in a very short time period. If the CTS coupe does make production — which we are very confident of — Manoogian says that the V-series treatment would be a no-brainer.
We also asked where the CTS coupe concept fell on the spectrum of the base model versus the V-series trim level. While the CTS coupe is strictly a concept at this point, Mangooian says that the car hovers in the middle of the two. Our guess is that the concept’s huge wheel and tire package would be reserved for the performance model.
Look for GM to give a decision on the future of the CTS coupe in the coming months.
