D3 Cadillac Widebody CTS-V Coupe for BTX Air is a Gravity Bound Spaceship

When you think of high-performance tuning, Cadillac isn’t the first car company that typically comes to mind. Once the ‘go to’ ride primarily reserved for well-to-do men and women of a certain age who valued luxury and comfort, Cadillac has worked hard to shed this persona over the last 10 years and has produced a revamped product lineup that is anything but dull and complacent. D3 Cadillac took notice of this progressive trend early on and became a pioneer in the burgeoning Cadillac aftermarket tuning community, which naturally trends a bit younger.

In fact, back in 2005, D3 created a strategic partnership with Cadillac to co-op technology, leading to an impressive mutual transfer of knowledge. As such, D3’s performance tuning programs are some of the most advanced and well integrated we’ve seen to date; you have only to look at the amazing creations that come out of the shop to see how well this relationship has played out.

A couple of months ago, we saw a teaser of one of their latest creations — a wide-body Cadillac CTS-V Coupe built for BTX Global Logistics, a 33 year old full-service transportation and logistics company headquartered in Connecticut. And for the past few weeks we have stayed in close contact with D3 waiting for this beast to be finished. Last week we finally got a chance to see the car up close and personal, knock out a quick photo shoot, and get the final specs.

One of the most interesting phenomena about this car is the ridiculous amount of attention it receives. As we were cruising through Long Beach, there wasn’t a corner or intersection we passed where someone didn’t do a double-take, run up to the car, or holler at the driver to try and find out more. This CTS-V is an attention whore not because of the throaty exhaust note, which is stellar, but because the thing looks like a spaceship bound to the earth exclusively by the force of gravity.

The Cadillac CTS-V Coupe is already pretty aggressive straight from the factory. But that didn’t stop the folks at D3 Cadillac from introducing some visual enhancements to take the car from street bruiser to heavyweight champ. The aesthetic tweaks include wide-body flares, a front spoiler, front competition splitter, double-sided carbon fiber ventilated hood with a carbon fiber rain guard, side skirts, carbon fiber air foils and a rear diffuser.

D3 also installed their Noir Black Package which naturally includes a blacked-out grill, window trims, side vents and a rear trunk piece. The ginormous APR GT500 wing finishes off the look.

The donor CTS-V Coupe started out as the $70,000 Black Diamond Edition so, with the tri-coat paint already stunning, no spray booth action or wrap was needed. For those interested in how Cadillac achieved this look, the SpectraFlair Bright Silver pigment in the paint is facilitated by a process which takes aluminum flakes and encapsulates them in magnesium fluoride, a substance similar in many ways to glass. The paint creates a diamond-esque sparkle when it catches the light, hence its name.

The wheel choice and stance plays just as much into the overall striking look of this CTS-V as anything else. CEC c885 wheels with matte black centers featuring a transparent red outer step lip were sourced as the rims, which are shod in Pirelli PZero Nero rubber. The staggered fitment measures 21 x 10.5 in front and a whopping 21 x 14 in back to help this Caddy put the power down on the pavement.

Speaking of power, no D3 project would be complete without extensive tuning and this wide-body CTS-V Coupe is no exception. The factory supercharged 6.2L V8 engine is no slouch, putting out an impressive 556-horsepower and taking the honor of being “the most powerful ever offered in Cadillac’s nearly 106-year history.” That didn’t stop D3 from adding 340+ horsepower by way of the D3 tuning parts bin, which included a Stage 2 intake, supercharged lid spacer, upper and lower pulley as well as heavy-duty heads and cams.

They also sourced a full exhaust system including headers and Xpipe from Stainless Works; dropped in MSD wires and NGK plugs; and introduced a methanol fuel delivery system. With the signature D3 dual mapping E85/91 octane with methanol, the car is good for 900+ horsepower.

This is yet another remarkable build from the folks at D3 Cadillac. With GM transitioning the lineup of vehicles and D3’s close ties to Cadillac, we’re definitely looking forward to their next masterpiece!