<http://schema.org/articleBody>
" Yountville, Calif.\u2014The new 2011 CTS Coupe should have been a 2010 model\u2014but it was put on ice\u2014frozen for a full year.  Bob Munson, chief designer of the Cadillac CTS, first sketched the rakish coupe in 2006. According to chief engineer Dave Leone, Bob Lutz was so impressed his response was: &amp;quot;Just go do it.&amp;quot; With that blessing, the CTS was fast-tracked through the production process, landing at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show as a concept that looked amazingly production-ready. It was set to arrive in dealerships in 2009. But in the turmoil surrounding the bankruptcy and bailout of 2009, a sporty Cadillac coupe was not necessarily the new company&amp;#039;s top priority. Now, with U.S. auto sales rebounding and a new sense of optimism within GM, the two-door version of Cadillac&amp;#039;s successful CTS is ready to take on the coupes from Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz.  The Specs A coupe&amp;#039;s success depends in no small part on its styling. The CTS is striking, handsome from many angles, and certainly unique. But it&amp;#039;s also risky. Although it has a traditional trunk, the CTS Coupe appears as though it could be a hatchback from some angles. Two-door hatchbacks based on luxury sedans have not been particularly successful in the U.S. In the past, both BMW and Mercedes-Benz attempted to sell four-cylinder hatchback versions of their popular 3-Series and C-Class sedans. Each lasted only four years before they were cancelled.  Yet this Cadillac, along with the market today, is different. The hatchback style is gaining traction with four-door luxury sedans like the Aston Martin Rapide and Porsche Panamera. And the CTS Coupe is not a watered down four-cylinder version of the sedan. No, this coupe has the same 304-hp 3.6-liter V6 as the sedan. And it comes paired to the same six-speed manual or six-speed automatic driving either the rear wheels or all four. The CTS Coupe uses 3.73:1 gearing instead of the sedan&amp;#039;s 3.42:1 cogs \u2014so should be marginally quicker than other CTS models too. Take a long slow walk around the CTS Coupe, absorbing the design from all angles, and it&amp;#039;s difficult to believe that it rides on the same 113.4-inch wheebase as the CTS sedan and wagon. The two-door looks much more compact. In fact, the Coupe is shorter by about 2 inches, lower by another 2 inches (thanks to the chopped roof), and wider at the wheel arches by 2 inches. Yet at 3909 pounds (automatic rear-drive) it weighs about the same as the sedan.  To impart a sportier character, the chassis received significant tweaks. The Coupe loses two doors compared to the sedan, so engineers flared the bottom of the B-pillar&amp;#039;s structure to provide additional reinforcement. There&amp;#039;s also a revised rear subframe for added stiffness (as on other 2011 CTS models). And, according to engineer Leone, the shorter roof and all that additional structure along the sides of the body contribute to a small but not insignificant 5 percent increase in torsional stiffness.  The suspension wears firmer dampers along with revised sway bars\u2014smaller diameter up front and larger at the rear\u2014in order to help reduce understeer and provide more neutral handling. The wider rear track and the summer tire performance package&amp;#039;s staggered 245/45R19 fronts, 275/40R19 rears not only boost grip but contribute to a 2 second improvement in Nurburgring lap times over the CTS sedan, according to Leone. Less aggressive 18-inch wheels and tires are also available, and that model also receives softer damper tuning.  &amp;amp;gt; The Drive Squeeze the Corvette- (and XLR-) inspired hidden handles and then swing open the long, heavy door. Aside from the heft of the door and the lowered roofline, anyone familiar with the CTS sedan will feel right at home inside the Coupe. Although the interior is identical, that chopped roof and more steeply raked windshield make this car feel smaller on the inside.  On the road, it seems smaller, too. Along the snakelike bends of the hilly roads near Lake Berryessa north of Napa, the CTS Coupe seemed like it could be the next-size-down Caddy, its exterior dimensions shrinking with each turn. The 19-inch tires have a ton of grip and handle the roads at fairly serious speeds. Steering is sharp and precise. The CTS Coupe is fast and a lot of fun in this terrain.  However, mid-corner bumps and broken pavement occasionally make for some abrupt jolts. The CTS&amp;#039;s suspension is not quite as fluid or supple as some other sports coupes in the segment\u2014or the CTS Sports Wagon which we drove on nearby roads the day prior. We might opt for the Coupe&amp;#039;s standard damper setup and 18-inch wheels. Our car came with heated and ventilated seats but felt less supportive and less substantial than other CTS seats we&amp;#039;ve experienced. So we might also opt for the up level 14-way adjustable Recaro seats. Sport coupes that play in this arena don&amp;#039;t often have superlative rear seat accommodations for six footers. And neither does the CTS. Though rear seat knee room is adequate, the steeply sloping rear window meant that the top of my head would hit the glass unless I bent forward. That&amp;#039;s tolerable for a short drive, but not for a serious road trip. The rear seat splits and folds to allow long items to pass through from the 10.5 cubic foot trunk. Leone says he recently carried some 8-foot-long lumber home in a CTS Coupe. Impressive. And there is a center console with cupholders for both rear passengers\u2014a nice touch. On the highway, the CTS Coupe easily reels in the miles like other CTS Cadillacs. The ride here is firm, but not overly so. And the cocoon-like cabin with short side windows feels muscle-car cool as you pass other drivers. The shorter gearing is noticeable when you floor the throttle to make a pass. Press the buttons behind the wood and leather wheel to downshift or upshift like before. But now\u2014finally\u2014you don&amp;#039;t need the shift lever in Sport mode to do so. That feature is carried throughout the CTS range for 2011. The Bottom Line Don Butler, Cadillac&amp;#039;s new vice president of marketing, expects the CTS Coupe to lead its segment. That&amp;#039;s a fairly lofty goal, considering this Caddy will compete with such capable and refined cars as the Audi A5, BMW 335i, and Infiniti G37 Coupe. The CTS Coupe starts at $38,990, but quickly rises as you add packages\u2014the Performance Collection begins at $43,430 and the Premium Collection is $47,835. However, the $62,990 556-hp CTS-V is the CTS Coupe we really want in our garage. We&amp;#039;ll have to wait to drive that car later this year. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/reviews/a5870/2011-cadillac-cts-coupe-test-drive/>