It is no secret that Individuals have a love affair with sport utility autos and pickup vehicles. In keeping with the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, SUVs and pickups collectively made up almost 75% of all new autos offered in the USA in the course of the yr 2022. Nonetheless, throughout the pond, our motoring counterparts in Europe nonetheless favor the nice ol’ original station wagon — or “property” if you wish to sound subtle — to satisfy their cargo hauling wants. The truth is throughout that very same yr, 64% of all station wagons manufactured worldwide had been offered in Europe.
That is to not say that the U.S. does not get some cool wagons imported to our shores, just like the Audi RS 6 Avant or its new competitor, BMW’s M5 Touring. Nonetheless, for a quick interval between 2010 and 2014, Cadillac introduced us a homegrown contender that would go head-to-head with the easiest of the European wagons: the CTS-V Sport Wagon. A supercharged 6.2-liter all-aluminum LS V8 resided beneath the sledgehammer Cadillac’s hood, able to 564 horsepower and 551 lb-ft of torque. What’s much more bonkers is that the usual gearbox was a six-speed guide (a six-speed slushbox was optionally available), channeled via rear-wheel drive solely.
Again within the day, Automobile and Driver piloted a three-pedal model of the almost 4,400-pound behemoth to a 0-to-60-mph time of 4.1 seconds on its method to a 12.3-second quarter-mile. These days, if you’d like one in all these final all-American sleepers on your personal, the worth of entry stays stubbornly sticky, and with good motive.
Lower than 2,000 CTS-V Wagons had been made
The precise variety of CTS-V Sport Wagons produced throughout its 4 yr run is slippery to pin down, however suffice to say that it is lower than 2,000 — minus not less than one which was stolen and chopped for elements. Some sources record a really particular variety of 1,767 “Vagons” made, with 514 of these having a guide transmission. So to reply the title query in regards to the CTS-V Sport Wagon retaining its lofty worth, it is merely a uncommon car and priced accordingly.
A fast peek on the pricing supply, Basic.com, exhibits a median offered worth of $44,880 for automated transmission-equipped CTS-V Sport Wagons over the previous 12 months. To place a finer level on pricing, a “extremely authentic” 2012 instance with simply 12k miles offered for $57,500 in July 2024. On the different finish of the spectrum, a barely extra loved copy with 70k miles hammered out at $31,750 on Convey a Trailer in June 2024.
The a lot rarer six-speed guide Vagon instructions a premium over its automated brethren, with a median worth of $66,051 for accomplished gross sales over the previous 12 months. Whereas $66k is likely to be the latest common, a few notably low-mileage specimens pierced the $80k barrier final summer season. Whereas spending that a lot on a ten yr previous car that is nonetheless in a purgatory between up to date and basic might sound slightly nuts, it is a distinctive piece of Americana whereas being half the worth of present efficiency wagons and almost as succesful.