Design Unfiltered: Bold Sketch Gives Life to 2011 CTS Coupe

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DETROIT – Bob Munson, design manager for the Cadillac CTS, admits even he was taken aback when he first saw the production version of 2011 CTS Coupe.

“I thought it looked like something from another planet,” Munson said. “It looked like a concept car driving down the road. The Coupe definitely has a shock value…but in a good way.”

The CTS Coupe quickly has become one of the most-heralded new cars for the 2011 model year. It’s the most dramatic form yet in a Cadillac line that follows a theme described in design language as an archer’s bow pulled taut.

Road & Track described Cadillac’s new luxury sports coupe as “a head-turner on the scale of the Exorcist.” A New York Times review said the CTS Coupe “looks as if a stealth bomber just touched down in the neighborhood.” Popular Mechanics named the CTS Coupe one of the Top 10 Cars of 2011, and AutoWeek recently selected the high-performance version, CTS-V Coupe, as its Best of the Best Car for 2011.

The development of the CTS Coupe was a special project, said Munson, who began his career in GM design in the 1970s while attending what’s now Kettering University in Flint, Mich. For Munson and the Cadillac design team, the Coupe was as close to an unfiltered creative process as it gets. While early design sketches usually serve as inspiration for the final automobile, the original drawing of the CTS Coupe was followed almost as closely as a blueprint.

Munson first drew the lines that would become the CTS Coupe in 2004 as part of an exercise by Cadillac designers to describe the showroom of 2015. One evening at home, he sketched a two-door coupe that featured sharp angles, bulging wheels pushed to the corners and a fast, almost horizontal line from the roof to rear.

The coupe shape provided him the ability to focus on form, Munson said. Sedans and SUVs, by their nature, have more design constraints than coupes.

“Coupes are emotional,” Munson said. “They still have to function. You have to be able to drive down the road and carry groceries. You still need a back seat. But the emotional side weighs more heavily in a coupe than it does in a sedan.”

Mike Simcoe, then executive director of North America exterior design, saw the sketch hanging on the Cadillac studio wall and asked for a scale model of it as a side project. Paul Scicluna, a talented sculptor at GM, brought the sketch to life. Bob Lutz, then vice chairman of global development, and Ed Welburn, vice president of global design, saw the full-size clay model and insisted it be turned into a full-fledged automobile.

As the car moved from concept to production, Cadillac designers and engineers worked closely to preserve even the most minute details. The Coupe was not meant to be simply a two-door version of a sedan. The track was widened, roof lowered and length shortened to give the Coupe a more aggressive stance.

Engineers worked to ensure the dual-exhaust remained in the center, allowing the back fascia to be wrapped tightly at the corners. Special metal stamping techniques were developed to preserve the dramatic lines and angles of the original design. A group was created to figure out how to make the pointed tail-lights, putting a futuristic twist on the classic Cadillac tailfins.

Munson said he’s pleased with the results. The Coupe’s design has helped it stand out in the crowd. A Wall Street Journal review described the Coupe as “wicked, cool, extralegal…the car Frank Gehry and ‘Batman’ animator Bruce Timm would design if their lives depended on it.”

“We always knew it would be a polarizing design,” Munson said. “Some people are going to love it. Some people are going to hate it. To me, you’re not doing your job unless you get that kind of reaction. There’s a lot of coupe and sedan designs that are understated. They’re not trying to be a ‘look at me’ kind of car. The Cadillac CTS Coupe is very much an in-your-face, you-can’t-help-but-notice car.”

The development of the CTS Coupe was driven by a group of people with a passion for automotive design, Munson said. At its core, the CTS Coupe is a designer’s dream car brought to life.

“As a designer, you try to get better with each design,” Munson said. “I’m definitely still pushing myself to do that, but I’ll be honest. After doing the CTS Coupe, it will be hard to top that design. If this is what I’m remembered for, that will be okay.”

Source: Cadillac Media

BURNING UP THE MILES : Cadillac Firemaker by Pfaff Designs

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This 1956 Cadillac Sedan de Ville spent its life on the American road, highlighted by long driving vacations to Mexico, Alaska and annual trips to Florida. With over 100,000 miles on the odometer, this icon of '50s luxury was parked in 1971 and was forgotten – until then-high school senior and now current owner Murray Pfaff found it languishing in storage in 1986.

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Neglected for 25 years and due to lose its place in a barn scheduled to be demolished to make way for a mall, the car caught young Pfaff's fancy. He asked his father for permission to buy it and rescue it from decay, but received a firm, “Over my dead body” in reply. Fortunately for the car and Murray, this Cadillac found safe haven until the purchase could finally be negotiated some 5 years later.  

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First up for the behemoth was custom bodywork under the guidance of Matt Shamey of Watertown, NY. This includes over 300 hood louvers, recessed hood ornament, shaved handles, trim, and emblems, custom skirts, frenched antennas, filled bumpers, and a Carson style roof. Then Brother Dave and a collection of friends again stepped in to help get the Caddy road worthy in just under a year motivated by the original 365 cubic-inch V-8.

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Another 5 years had passed before the transplant of a 1976 Cadillac drive train began in Naples, FL. In order to help fit the 500-c.i.d. power plant under the hood, the firewall was recessed using a Jackson M-5 wheelbarrow. The big inch Cadillac motor benefits from high performance internals a polished Edelbrock intake, Holley Street Avenger carburetor, and plumbing from Earl’s.

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From Florida, Pfaff moved to Northern California. There, the car got a complete repaint that Murray had designed himself. The flame job was generated by computer and was one of his earliest design explorations – one that would later lead to the creation of Pfaff Designs.

Now located in Royal Oak, MI, Murray subjected the car to its fourth and most detailed make-over. This included brand new chrome, all new glass, and a new interior and paint scheme to complete the traditional yet modern look. Charlie Vickerie sprayed the new Pfaff-designed graphics using Glasurit paint. Jeff Shea created art in motion by applying some tasty pin stripping. The overall effect is a long, low, and imposing land yacht exuding a style that is sweet and undeniable.

Open the vault like doors and you find a leather wrapped dash with a custom punched and flared purple insert and speedo cluster liberated from a 1960 Cadillac. A modified 1960 Cadillac steering wheel proudly sits atop an Ididit column. A center console features the bullet housing with integrated gauges from Classic Instruments. Pat Russell at P.J.’s Trim Shop in Hemlock, MI. stitched together the leather hides to match the designer’s vision while encompassing the MTX sound system. A whole host of good friends, including Tom Gardner, Steve Langdon, Cliff McKillop, and Ed Pashukewich spent many sleepless nights bringing this incredible '56 Caddy to life.

To help achieve the right stance, the car was dropped to the ground using Air Ride Technologies Shock Waves. Another distinctive feature is the two different styles of rims and rubber. One side features BF Goodrich wide whites with 15” Astro Supremes, while the other sports Goodyear F1’s around a custom designed 18” Billet Specialties wheel. The two looks are very polarizing while attracting compliments from two different crowds. The car rides and drives like a dream which is important to Pfaff since he has logged over 85,000 miles himself behind the wheel. To say he enjoys driving this car is an understatement.

At the rear of this tour de force lies the reason for the car’s name: Just take a look at the exhaust and you will see that Murray is serious about his flames. The two-stage fuel injection system shoots fire more than 20 feet rearward! Pfaff often leaves two scorched trails behind him as his calling card. Whatever you do, don’t tailgate this big, bad Cadillac, as there's a good chance you're gonna' get burned by the FireMaker.

Source -Pfaff Design Press