Page 16 - Victory Driven: Cadillac V-Series sample pages

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the better “driver’s wagon” and sharper than the “big boy” E63 AMG,
CELEBRITY STATUS: HIT AND RUN
because of its lighter weight (~300 lbs) and Magnetic Ride shocks
The unique allure of the CTS-V Sport Wagon was definitely on
that GM generously licenses to Ferrari. He continued that there are
display in the 2012 movie Hit and Run, written and co-directed
better handling cars and cars that ride better, but few if any cars
(David Palmer) by Dax Shepard. Starring alongside his wife Kristen
have a better compromise of ride and handling characteristics than
Bell and Hollywood star Bradley Cooper, the film is not about cars,
do the V-Series Cadillacs.
per se, but similar to such classics as Smokey and the Bandit, it
puts them in the spotlight. In a 2012 interview for rogersmovienation.
Of course, words and opinions are not the end all of a head-to-
Fine Books © Dalton Watson Fi com, Shepard, who calls himself “a weird mix, an actor, a comedian,
head contest. So, an air strip locale was chosen for a 0-to-top end
a gun-owning liberal and a gearhead,” wanted to bring all those
drag race.
contradictions to the silver screen and see how it played out.
The ‘Vagon’ brought its 556 hp/551 lb-ft LSA to the fight
and was shifted by the editor’s choice, TR6060 six-speed
In the movie, alongside other notable GM machines of the day, a
manual
red CTS-V wagon gets top billing as the villain’s (Bradley Cooper)
For the 2012 E63 Estate, Mercedes-Benz AMG was flaunting
ride. Commenting on how he fell in love with the V wagon, while
a new hand-built weapon, the (M157) 5.5L Twin-Turbo
shooting Hit and Run, Shepard said, “The fact that we, in the U.S.,
(BITURBO) V8 making 518 hp/516 lb-ft in non-performance
are making a 550 hp station wagon tells me we’re still winning.
pack guise. Ironically, however, the car going up against the
Only a great country could make that.” Spoken like a true patriot
‘Vagon’ did have the upgrade which raised boost from 14.5
and a true car guy.
psi to 18.8 psi and power/torque to crazy levels of 550/590.
Wielding the E63’s prodigious punch was a seven-speed
wet clutch automatic transmission
Short story short. Both super wagons left hard, with the ‘Vagon’
© Dalton Watson Fine Books © Dalton Watson Fine Books roasting its hind Michelins a bit and the E63 taking an early lead.
At the half-mile, at over 150 mph for both, the AMG had taken the
flag by 79 feet, or what looked to be a split second. At the end
of the day and the “Head 2 Head”, Jonny Lieberman compiled the
statistics, driving impressions and the fact that the E63, held a
$42,000 premium ($112,000) over Cadillac’s finest ($70,000). With
130
this, his original proclamation stood firm, announcing the CTS-V
In this clash of titans, the CTS-V2 wagon was ‘David’ and the E63 AMG
Sport Wagon as the better overall driver’s wagon and the winner.
Estate was ‘Goliath’. We all know how that ended.
© Dalton Watson Fine Books © Dalton Watson Fine Books VISCERaL // ThE V2 CTS-V SEDaN, COUPE aND SPORT WagON (2009-2015) CADILLAC’S V-SERIES alton Watson Fine Books © Dalton Watson The true allure of the CTS-V2 wagon was evident in Dax Shepard’s film Hit and Run, as was astonishment in its performance. In a memorable chase
scene with a Corvette, one of the actors states, “This thing is so fast, I can’t believe it’s a station wagon.”
ine Books ©