The CTS Coupe introduced at the Detroit auto show is technically a concept, but it looks like it’s closer to being a prototype. It’s based on the sedan and shares its front end, with the exception of the domed hood. I think it looks a bit slab-sided, and I suspect the diamond-cut rear end will be controversial.
If it weren’t for the excellent quality of the CTS sedan, I’d never say this, but there’s nothing in this concept’s interior that looks like it couldn’t make it into the real production car. Though the seats are designed to be a bit more snug than the sedan’s and are fitted with suedelike inserts to hold occupants in place, the overall interior design is true to the sedan’s. Some, but not all, parts are shared.
Ed Welburn, GM’s VP of Global Design, said at the car’s introduction that the company is “very serious about this vehicle.”
“It would make a pretty interesting V-series as well,” he said.
Former Executive Editor Joe Wiesenfelder, a Cars.com launch veteran, led the car evaluation effort. He owns a 1984 Mercedes 300D and a 2002 Mazda Miata SE.