Cadillac designer shows off CTS-V Sport Wagon

It packs 556 hp and wears the closest things to fins you can find in 2010. What more do you need to know about the Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon?

Plenty, actually. And Cadillac design director Clay Dean is happy to walk enthusiasts through the finer points of the of the General’s newest speed wagon in this new video.

It’s the ultimate niche product: a luxury barge with a high-output V8, optional six-speed manual transmission and, oh yeah, it’s unabashedly a station wagon. But this may be our favorite people hauler since the Dodge Magnum R/T.

Clad in a dark jacket and open-collar shirt, the goateed Dean illustrates the V wagon inside and out, touching on the domed hood, 19-inch wheels, mesh grille and the host of top-shelf magnetic ride components. Inside is leather, Recaro seats and “laser-etched” V-emblems.

“We think that the excitement and capability of V blended into the functionality of the wagon gives the customer something different, something unique--something that you’re not going to be able to see everyday,” Dean said.

Cadillac Reveals 550-Horsepower CTS-V Sport Wagon

Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon.

Cadillac revealed its mega-horsepower CTS-V Sport Wagon two days ahead of the New York auto show’s media days, which begin unofficially with a series of parties on Tuesday night and officially on Wednesday morning.

The Sport Wagon is a station wagon that follows a tradition that had been exclusive to Europe — high performance wagons that can rival sports cars or record boast-worthy Nürburgring lap times (see Audi RS6 Avant). Nick Twork, a Cadillac spokesman, said that the show-version CTS-V wagon was also built to convince company executives — successfully, it turns out — to put the car into limited production. “We just tweaked it for the show a little,” Mr. Twork said. “It’s a business, so we have to justify what we do. People who buy it will be part of a very small club, but it’s the ultimate insider’s car.”

The Sport Wagon comes with all the things that make the CTS-V sedan one of the world’s fastest four-doors, including a 556-horsepower supercharged V-8, available 6-speed manual shifter, magnetic computer suspension, Recaro seats, Brembo brakes – and now, a power lift-gate to go with a top speed of roughly 185 miles per hour. The CTS-V wagon should reach dealers at the tail end of 2011. With the sedan starting at $61,545, the wagon version should stay below $65,000, about $30,000 less than the new Mercedes-Benz E63 wagon, if Benz ever decided to import it here.