Factory Stick-Equipped Luxury Grocery Getter – Cadillac CTS-V 6-Speed Wagon

At the 2022 Cadillac Attack event, we spotted a relative unicorn in the CTS-V universe. In the field of competitors, there was a CTS-V wagon with the factory manual transmission! A CTS-V wagon is unusual enough to see, but one with a factory TREMEC TR-6060 6-speed is like catching sight of Big Foot riding on the Loch Ness Monster’s back. The CTS wagon was available for the 2010-14 model years, and was a bold move for Cadillac, since at a time, the concept of a station wagon was virtually extinct in the American market, unlike in Europe. This 2013 stick wagon was one of only 500 made for the model year.

ABOVE: A wagon was added to the second-generation Cadillac CTS lineup for the 2010-2013 model years. Only 7,000 units of the CTS-V wagons were sold, and just 1,200 left the factory equipped with a TREMEC TR-6060 6-speed manual transmission. Chuck Blinn, the owner of this wagon, had to go all the way from Florida to Texas to find it.  

Today, the TREMEC-equipped CTS-V wagon is highly sought after by enthusiasts. The owner of this 2013 model, Chuck Blinn, couldn’t find any near his South Florida home, but did locate a low-mileage one in Texas and didn’t waste a millisecond securing the purchase. It has a few minor aftermarket upgrades.

ABOVE: The second-generation Cadillac CTS-V was powered by a supercharged LSA V8. It made 556 horsepower and 551 lb-ft of torque in stock form. In any model of the CTS-V (sedan, coupe and station wagon) there was a an option of a TREMEC TR-6060 6-speed manual transmission.

Wagons are still available in America from European and Asian manufacturers such as Subaru, Audi, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche. And some of those models even have a manual transmission. But in a world dominated by cars, trucks and SUVs, it’s unlikely we’ll ever see an American-produced station wagon again.

ABOVE: Luxury and performance with a third pedal?! For the CTS-V series you could have it all, including room to haul some cargo with the station wagon version. The CTS-V wagon was the performance equal to station wagons available from Audi and Mercedes-Benz at the time, both of which also offered a manual transmission. 
ABOVE: All manual transmission-equipped second-generation Cadillac CTS-V cars came with a TREMEC TR-6060 6-speed. The TR-6060’s smooth and high-rpm shifting capability matches beautifully with the Cadillac’s supercharged LSA V8, just as it does in the fifth-generation Chevy Camaro ZL1.