Coupe comeback
The Chicago Auto Show steps into its 102nd edition this Friday with all the glitz and glamour that has helped make the event the largest auto show in the country.
But patrons who attended the show early last decade stood witness to the slow death of one of the auto industry’s timeless designs—the coupe body style.
Then, family cars – particularly sedans—were in high demand, firmly seating most auto manufacturers on the four-door bandwagon.
Seven years later, coupes are back in vogue, fuelled by such cars as the Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger whose nostalgic return parades them past a new generation of buyers that missed those models the first time around the block in the 1960s and ‘70s.
Today, some automakers’ cars originally built as four-door models are loosing two doors and gaining new market share with the onslaught of the coupe revival.
Mainstream manufacturers that build the Honda Accord, Hyundai Genesis and Kia Forte have added two-door versions of their sedan product line, drawing new vitality and a younger buyer to their showrooms.
But the waters of the coupe comeback flow both ways.
Premium car companies like Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz that produce four-door models of the Cadillac CTS and Mercedes E-Class now offer coupe equivalents.
Cadillac recently announced a production CTS Coupe will arrive this spring punctuated by the high-performance CTS-V Coupe Concept shown at this year’s Chicago Auto Show.
If form follows function, the CTS-V Coupe will be rolling off the assembly line as a production model this time next year. And with a 6.2-liter Supercharged V-8 building 556 horsepower, it can’t get here fast enough for enthusiasts that thirst for exemplary performance and style.
The CTS-V Concept extends the dramatic design of its sedan predecessor with all-new sculpted coachwork.
These elements are seen from the bright two-tier mesh grille to the chiseled bodywork that molds the basis form of the rear fascia, topped by a fast-rake profile over budging well arches for a dynamic ready-to-pounce stance.
The Cadillac CTS-V Coupe Concept has a classic four-passenger two-plus-two interior layout the features unique front and rear seats, custom door panels and a continuous center console that runs the length of the cabin.
Today’s Cadillac CTS Coupe and tomorrow’s CTS-V Coupe Concept are personal cars built for those customers who choose to pamper themselves with power and panache.
Price for the 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe is expected to start in the low $40,000 range. A production version of CTS-V Coupe would likely begin around $60,000.
