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Project "VANQUISH" Widebody kit for CTS-V

84K views 171 replies 56 participants last post by  AAIIIC 
#1 ·
Hello All,
Some of you may know about this build that I alluded to in a previous thread called “First Ever Penske 7500 Double Adjustable True Coilover for a CTS-V”. So, let’s start from the beginning.
Once upon a time, a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, blah, blah, blah…I owned a 2005 CTS-V, which I had for a couple of years. At that time, there were very few performance after-market parts available for this car. And, as in my case, every vehicle that I’ve ever owned, I’ve modified in some way, shape or form. I was invited by Cadillac/GM to test drive the 2nd generation CTS-V before they were released in the showrooms, on a road course in New York. After test driving the new V, I was told that GM, would offer a track package for this car. But, because the economy went into the crapper, GM decided not to go forward with this package. So, I decided to wait. At the same time, I test drove an XLR-V on the road course and really enjoyed the car. I knew with some modifications, as always, that the car could be that much better. So, I bought one.

A couple of years later, in 2010, I remembered how much fun and driving enjoyment I got out of driving my CTS-V and figured by this time, there should be performance after-market parts for the car. So, hence, the search began for a 1st generation CTS-V. I decided on the 1st generation, compared to the 2nd, for a couple of reasons. First, I’m a road racer, not a drag racer, so I wanted something that was naturally aspirated, not super charged. Second, the 2nd gens were quite a bit heavier than the 1st gens. And, the electronics – well, let’s just say that the same ECUs and electronics that are in the XLR-V, are also used in the 2nd gen CTS-V. So, for modification purposes, at this time, it’s quite a nightmare, even for some of the most knowledgeable out there.

I found a 2006 CTS-V: one owner, very low mileage, and no accidents. So, this was the perfect platform with which to start. I started with the suspension. I put in a call to Angelo at Anze Engineering, who has built suspension systems for these production cars, along with the race versions. And, since he was using Penske, I knew that he was the best choice for my suspension.

In saying all this, I knew that one of the biggest things that people want on these cars is to put on larger wheels and tires. But, because of suspension, clearance and geometry issues, there were limitations. With all this in mind, I wanted to build a wide body kit to address all these challenges, without major modifications to suspensions or geometry of the vehicle.

After much research and knowing how many people love to take these cars on a road course on a high performance track day, I knew it was time to get some real, solid production parts for these cars, and not some of the so-called after market bling that really does not produce much gain. So, in April 2010, I started to look for someone to work with to build a wide body kit for these cars that doesn’t look like aftermarket, slap-on Jeep fenders.

Finding someone local was my intent, but if need be, out-of-state was an option. Fortunately, I found that person, and he is local. So, thus began the design work. There were three points that I was not going to budge on: Form, Fit and Function.
While designing, I looked at other avenues of the vehicle that I thought needed upgrading, such as larger brake system (not that the OEM isn’t capable, as it is very capable). But, in performance, success is measured in milliseconds and the better the braking capability, the bigger the edge. I have been working with vendors on upgrades to the upper and lower control arm bushings, coilovers to adapt from the OEM rear to a true coilover, 6-point roll bar, and a few other aerodynamic goodies which are being developed. While speaking with quite a few manufacturers over this build, some had expressed the desire to display the car at SEMA (Specialty Equipment Manufacturer’s Association.)

So, the building of the kit commenced on January 25, 2011 and Project “VANQUISH” was born. Knowing that we were heading to SEMA, the amount of work for this car increased trifold. Unfortunately, we hit some snags; some good, some bad. Good ones include my fabricator’s new baby girl in Sept (and as most of you know, life changes dramatically with a new baby.) Some of the bad include the extreme high heat and humidity this summer which made working with fiberglass a challenge. Not to mention health issues. Fortunately, when we were accepted by a manufacturer to display the car, I told them to have a back-up, just in case. And, as of late September, we knew we were not going to make the deadline. Considering there is only one fabricator and one me, and my relentless pursuit of perfection, we did the best we could.

Now, let’s get to the details of the kit. This kit will contain the front bumper, left & right fenders, left & right rocker panels, left & right rear quarter panels and a rear bumper. Options include a heat-extractor hood, front splitter, and rear wing. There will also be a six point, welded or bolted, roll bar available (more on this in another thread.)

To give you an idea of the type of quality that I expect in the vendors that I work with, see Photo 1. It is one of my cars that was featured in national and international magazines and has won countless awards

The kit will be made out of fiberglass. I am investigating the possibility of also providing a carbon fiber kit. The front bumper, rear bumper, fenders and rocker panels are going to be bolt-on. The rear quarter panels will require a skilled body man to install, due to the fact that 98% of the rear quarter panel will be cut out. This kit will allow you to run a 315 tire on an 11” wide wheel, with OEM back spacing in the front, and a 335 tire on an 18” wide wheel, with OEM back spacing in the rear. This kit will only be sold to CTS-V owners and will require your VIN number for purchase. This is to keep the clones at bay. Pricing is yet to be determined, but I will tell you now, that the pricing will be extremely competitive. At this point, our goal is to be ready for production orders in January.

I know you are waiting for photos of this. The only photos I can show you are Photo 2, which is the car as of a few days ago. As you can see, not much to look at….but Photo 3 shows some of the parts, on stands, that have just emerged from the primer booth, waiting to be blocked & sanded to make the final molds for production parts.

I’d be glad to answer any questions that you may have. I promise to keep you up to date on our progress. At this point, the few, (and I do mean few – you can count the number on one hand) who have seen this car, have made comments like “…if I saw this car in my rear view mirror on the street or track, advancing towards me, I would move over…””Mean” “Wicked”

Thank you for your interest and patience; I know you won’t be disappointed.
 

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#46 ·
Considering that we have not started to make the final parts I cannot tell you what the cost will be (Time /Materials) All of the engineering and design I am paying for(19 months worth) and in no way will it be incurred into the final product cost. We have made countless parts and used tons of material (fiberglass,metal,body filler,etc...)I started this project for me and only me(a one off) but after much consideration decided that other V owners might be interested,and from the response in the last year it looks like so.Compared to the other options out there for this car regarding flares /body enhancements this kit will give you a complete fender a complete bumper, a complete rear bumper,full rear quarters, and complete rocker panels,Where as the other options only give you stick on's sort a speak you still would have to cut front feners to install the other options. So giving you a Ballpark even a large ballpark would be unrealistic. If I give you pricing to high it throws the possibilityof ruining someone's dream to have this. If I price it too low then I look like an idiot, so since I really would prefer to have the exact numbers for this, even I will have to wait to find out. I know this does not answer your question, but bear with me

Thanks!!!
 
#48 ·
UPDATE:

We are working on the final molds for the production parts. The photo shows the heat extractor hood which we have reinforced to handle multiple parts to be made.If you look closely you can see the outline of the vents. This hood is made to reduce engine temps and to provide downforce by reducing pressure under the engine compartment.The goal is to have all the molds finished by Jan 1 (well there goes Christmas and New Years) and to make the first set of production parts there after.

Thanks for all of your interest...........
 

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#50 ·
Liking the hood. Any provisions to make it rain worthy?
 
#55 ·
Shouldn't you be paying GM or Pratt & Miller for it?
 
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#54 ·
:grouphug:
 
#57 ·
Sweet!
 
#59 ·
Do you think the side skirts will be able to accommodate side exit exhaust?
 
#64 ·
The plan is for side exhaust but the molds will be solid for now that way it will allow you to put the exit where you want it. If in the future if we get enough requests for side exhaust we can take a mold of mine and we can go from there. There is very and I do mean very little room [because street height with out scraping is going to be tough even with oval tubing]to do this without removing the fuel tanks and going with a fuel cell and for people who daily drive this car I think most would not want a fuel cell. When my car is completed I will have full details on exhaust,coolers,6point roll bar,dry sump Etc.....
 
#60 · (Edited)
Its almost Christmas!!! I hope to see that pricing soon as my V was totaled and I am trying to decide if I should buy it back. New bolt on fenders could make the decision easier. Can we see a few more pics? The insurance people will be calling me Tuesday and I need to know. Every panel on my car is ruined. Even though I wanted to go stock, this could be good if it looks good and is priced right. I saw some CTS kits going for 1K. If its like that, I'm in. If its 5K, I'm out. I need some pics!!! Will this have significant weight savings or is it gonna be thick. I also wonder about the side exhaust. I always liked that in the Gen. 1 CTS-VR.
http://www.andysautosport.com/cadillac/2003_2007_cts/exterior/body_kits/extreme_dimensions/
 
#65 ·
Awesome. I want to just run mine to the sides from where my cutouts are now and then replace the resonator with a single muffler for the few times I need the car to be not super loud.
 
#66 ·
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk
 
#68 ·
UPDATE:

I thought I would give you guys a quick update. The rear quarters have been gelcoated the car is in the paint booth to speed up the process of curing the gelcoat due to the frickin cold weather we are having. We should be laying fiberglass this afternoon for the production mold. What's left you ask, well the front fenders and rear bumper. After that the frame for the hood. Gotta run.....................
 
#70 ·
UPDATE;


Happy New Year to all !

The molds are 99.9% done and we will finish this week. The first set of parts will be made next week which will be mounted on my car. As you can see the molds were done on the car because if we removed them then fibergalssed them the structure would change due to the weather(metal fenders) and the plastic bumper is just to flimsy to get a good mold without leaving it on the car.We are now in the process of making the molds stronger similar to the photo of the hood in a previous post.You can somewhat see how wide the rear of the car is now in the rear bumper photo. The oem wheels are on the car now that way we don't mess the new wheels up.

Thank You for all of your interest.
 

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#73 ·
I agree. I'm hoping that just the front bumper and fenders (in carbon fiber) are an option, if that would look OK aesthetically. It would be nice to be able to run a square set of 10.5 - 11" wheels in front and back, but I don't think I'm willing to cut into the stock rear quarter panels beyond rolling the fender lips.
 
#75 ·
looks very good so far...
thank you !!!

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I agree. I'm hoping that just the front bumper and fenders (in carbon fiber) are an option, if that would look OK aesthetically. It would be nice to be able to run a square set of 10.5 - 11" wheels in front and back, but I don't think I'm willing to cut into the stock rear quarter panels beyond rolling the fender lips.
If you only used the front fenders and bumper the car would look like an upside down triangle. The only way to get a true widebody is to cut, and that applies for most production cars. We are lookking into Carbon Fiber but as I have said in a previous post it will depend on the demand for it.

Thank you for your interest.
 
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