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2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe (photos)

Cadillac just added the Coupe to its CTS-V line of cars, and this one may be the best yet. The Coupe body employs a radically nasty look that is all too appropriate for the roaring horsepower underneath the hood. But this car also shows some finesse by cornering like a champ.

Wayne Cunningham
Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.
Wayne Cunningham
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The Coupe version of Cadillac's CTS cuts a striking figure, but when fitted out in CTS-V trim its performance really justifies its looks. The V is Cadillac's performance trim, which in the CTS-V Coupe means 556 horsepower and 3.9 seconds to 60 mph.

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In CTS-V from, the Coupe gains a wire grille and lower intake, along with Cadillac's V badges around the car.

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As a coupe, the CTS-V only gets two doors, and getting into the rear seats requires a bit of contortion.

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The CTS-V Coupe, like the other V models in the CTS lineup, gets a magnetic suspension, giving it excellent handling, and a supercharged, 6.2-liter engine.

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The trunk is actually roomy, but getting through the small trunk opening is tough.

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Optional powered Recaro seats have bolster adjustments for sides and thighs, helping keep occupants in their seats as lateral g-forces build.

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In CTS-V Coupe form, all the cabin electronics come standard. The interior also feels worthy of the Cadillac marque.

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The steering wheel feels engaged with the road, and the CTS-V Coupe handles with the near point-and-shoot corning of a smaller car.

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Cadillac fits the CTS-V Coupe with a substandard Bluetooth phone system, lacking features available from competitors.

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The gauges are set deep, and Cadillac limits the cluster to three tunnels. The right tunnel includes a supercharger pressure gauge.

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The six-speed manual feels a little clunky, lacking the smooth precision of a European transmission.

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The center stack includes buttons and a dial for operating the cabin tech, but the LCD is also a touchscreen.

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The driver can retract the LCD, in which mode it only shows audio information.

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Maps in the navigation system, stored on a hard drive, are colorful and easy to read.

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With the touch screen, you can use the onscreen keyboard to enter addresses.

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The CTS-V Coupe has a good number of audio sources, including its onboard hard drive.

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The car uses the same library format for iPods, its hard drive, USB drives, and MP3 CDs.

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The rear view camera is very basic, lacking trajectory or distance lines.

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The familiar blue OnStar button sits on the mirror. OnStar also offers an app, letting you access more features from a smartphone.

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