2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe

The CTS-V coupe is without a doubt the coolest member of the CTS family so far, although the upcoming CTS-V wagon might change my mind about that. The CTS-V sedan debuted about two years ago, perhaps a bit too quietly, but the V coupe should remind us all of how cool any flavor of CTS-V is. The coupe isn't as high-strung as I expected (in other words, it's easy to drive responsibly around town), but it's still got plenty of power to out-accelerate the vast majority of cars on the road. You don't HAVE to drive responsibly, however; I haven't spun the tires of any car this much in a very long time. In the case of our test car, those tires are mounted on totally badass flat-black wheels. The coupe profile is very hot, too, making the V coupe probably the hottest Cadillac in history. Happily, the trunk is bigger than expected, and so are the back seats. The manual gearbox could stand to have shorter throws and slightly more precise movement, but I still think it's better than the BMW M3's stick shift, and I'm very glad that Cadillac offers a manual in the CTS family. Second is arguably the only gear you need, since it'll take you from zero all the way up to about 73 or 74 mph-like a rocket ship. The pedals are too far apart for me to heel-and-toe, but that's hardly a deal-breaker in a car this darn cool. Rusty Blackwell, Copy Editor