Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
SOME cars have the wow factor ... they ooze style and are simply sexy beasts. You know from the moment you step into the driver's seat, slowly drive away and catch a glimpse of a passer-by in your rear-view mirror peering with a look of pure admiration and envy etched on his face.
The 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe has that head-turning quality. It's the X-Factor winner of the cool car hit parade, the sort of motor you'd expect someone like Simon Cowell, the coolest dude on global TV, to step out of.
The first to drive one out of the National Motor Company's showroom in Sitra was Ali Isa Al Jabire, 20, a BDF officer from Hamad Town.
"It's a very smooth car with a sporty yet extremely comfortable feel. It just looks and feels different to anything-else on the market. Some friends have even described it as a very attractive spaceship!"
And, so impressed have some of his pals been, that one apparently hotfooted it down to the showroom within 24 hours for a test drive of his own.
Ali's early impressions are supported by many motoring correspondents who have suggested the CTS coupe 'feels and drives like a car that's been to finishing school' and one scribe gushingly concluded: 'The CTS coupe is one of those cars that loves the camera, and it's no less stunning in the flesh'.
According to the designers, the latest CTS Coupe is a sportier, realisation of Cadillac's highly-praised CTS Sedan.
More expressive, more technical and very personal, this model extends the dramatic design of its sedan predecessor with new sculptured bodywork and dozens of signature design cues.
Unashamedly futuristic - hence the 'spaceship' accolade from one happy driver - it shares only the instrument panel, console, headlamps, front fenders and grille with the sedan.
The inside is as sharp as the outside. The hand-sewn supple French-stitched leather driver's seat, the burled walnut trim adorning the centre console, the handcrafted coupe's interior is as opulent as that of any luxury vehicle on the road.
Technically, the instrument panel is as impressive as all the 'high-end' marques I have recently test-driven. I particularly liked the glide-up eight-inch touch screen which provided a sharp colour display for the navigation system and the camera gave an equally impressive rear image on the screen which made manoeuvring out of a particularly tight parking spot in Manama a piece of cake.
I enjoyed reading some of the other comments made by industry analysts such as the CTS Coupe 'hitting its styling cues to perfection' and stating that it fuses the brand's future and its past in terms of both style and abilities.
"This is the kind of Cadillac you'd buy after landing a big client," another enthusiast said.
Under the bonnet comes a 304 hp direct-injected 3.6 L V6 engine with six-speed automatic transmission providing all the power necessary to hold your own on the Saudi Causeway.
Will it find a niche in the brutally-competitive luxury market? I think it probably already has now that Ali has been singing its praises.
It also comes with a price-tag which gives it an edge at BD19,800.
Contact the National Motor Company on 17457212 for details.
