World Class

It’s fashionable right about now to cast stones at The General, but there’s no denying that one of the cars that GM got right - way right - is the Cadillac CTS. Now in its second, equally successful generation, the car’s become a flagship for all that still bodes well for Detroit.

Kyosho’s been keeping an eye on the Caddy’s success around the world, and they’ve decided to market this wickedly good 1:18 model of the ’09 version in this Crystal Red, and in Black Raven. Either color comes on a righteous little boat with four opening doors, an opening hood, trunk, and gas filler door; a working sunroof, and an opening console and glove box. The suspension works, as does the steering, and the driveshaft spins with the rear wheels.

As built for Kyosho by contract player Gaincorp, the model’s finesse is evident everywhere. We loved the wood grain inserts in the carpeted interior and the high parts count on the dash and door panels; the cast-in stitching on the leather-look seats is cool - and so is the fact that the fronts slide to and fro smoothly. Outside, the model’s badging is done in photoetch, as is the grille; behind glittering factory-chromed wheels, steel discs pass through calipers at all four corners. Even more remarkable is the lensing (seen on this Asian-market sample with Euro-spec clear taillights, which might be red for the model’s release here), with multi-element design and light-bending clarity.

Under the friction strut-equipped hood is a well cobbled topside view of the Cad’s 3.6-liter six; in direct-injection trim, the car’s got over 300 horsepower on tap. Here, as in life, much of the engine is shielded from view, but what’s visible is very well done. Ditto the carpeted trunk - and it gets better if you pull the tab to reveal the spare. Chassis detail is a good balance of molded-in detailing and separate assemblies for the lower suspension elements and exhaust system.

Overall, this is a sweet treat from an unexpected source - and it’s one we applaud. Now, let’s hope it gets joined by a chest-thumping, 556-horsepower CTS-V variant, soon. We’ve seen the pre-production versions already. Go, Kyosho, go.

Kyosho 1:18 2009 Cadillac CTS / Item KY8G001R (red), KY8G001K (black), around $120.00. Distributed here by Minichamps, NA, 305-971-1171 / www.minichampsna.com.

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