SEMA 2008: Cadillac-Powered VRS is OMG!
by Jonathon Ramsey on Nov 5th 2008 at 9:58PM 
Click the image above for a high-res gallery of the Cadillac-Powered VRS
As you can tell from our furious posting frequency, there's a lot of stuff at SEMA. Often, you encounter some well-publicized car and your reaction is "Oh... harumph." And then there are the sadly infrequent times when you make your way to the back of a ginormous hall and turn the corner to find a tiny booth holding one of those "Oh... wow..." treasures. That's what happened when we dropped by the Helios Coatings booth and discovered the Cadillac-powered VRS (V Sport Rod).
Probably everything on this car except the fuel filler cap is custom or has been customized. A how-low-can-you-go custom-designed fiberglass body wraps itself around a 6.0-liter, 400 hp Cadillac engine. The engine cover runs from that hot-rod nose all the way to the bulkhead and then continues in one sweep to form the center console. The console works much like your phone, going dark when not in use and lighting up again when you touch it. And yes, that's an iPhone slotted in there. And at the corners are 20-inchers up front and 22-inchers out back suspended by aircraft strut suspension arms and wearing six-pot calipers front and rear. It is certifiably "Oh... wow..." But don't take our word for it -- check out the full specs, or get straight to the gallery of high-res images below.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
MajorGeek 10:03PM (11/05/2008)
Like the last concept they give me wood, then take it away. :( Build it!!
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Flashpoint 11:45PM (11/05/2008)
That thing looks like ALIEN 3
Pete 3:23PM (11/06/2008)
GM is so close to buying Chrysler that they even have there Plymouth Prowler revival plan!
HotRodzNKustoms 10:08PM (11/05/2008)
Absolutely astounding!!! The modern Cadillac design cues are incorporated flawlessly!!!
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Caz 12:50AM (11/06/2008)
agreed- beautiful car.
..anyone else hating the wheels?
Richard 10:14AM (11/06/2008)
Stunning!
Needs different wheels (Mini Lite's would be retro-period correct as classic BBS "baskets" would be great too), slicks (probably not going out in the rain) and a second headrest (everyone has a lawyer these days - which may cause re-thinking on the "slicks").
But man, they should build these. I would even go for faux carbon wrapping on the aluminum suspension arms.
Too bad this comes as GM heads for the bottom of the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
mike 11:12AM (11/06/2008)
I'm not a fan of GM design, but agreed - this is stunning. An amazing reduction to just the essential design elements.
Trent 10:10PM (11/05/2008)
that is so indescribably awesome.
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matt 11:11AM (11/06/2008)
That's a great way of describing it!
Serge K. 10:14PM (11/05/2008)
There is no bad angle on this one, I say!
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StickShift 10:20PM (11/05/2008)
Awesome. They only way it could get better would be with a blown Northstar.
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B-NOIT 10:25PM (11/05/2008)
I usually hate these, but this particular design is phenomenal... And I agree, the Cadillac design cues have been seamlessly incorporated, there isn't a bad angle on this design, and it just looks bad-ass. Simply stunning.
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Willis 10:31PM (11/05/2008)
Wow.. Amazing
They did away with the firewall.. almost
Gorgeous!
Imagine this on a skidpad, all that torque.
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Isuzu32 10:31PM (11/05/2008)
If you had this car, and someone said, "Check out the ram air hood I just got." You would have to say "Oh yeah? Check out my ram air brake ducts."
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Soccer Mom 10:37PM (11/05/2008)
I didn't know Chrysler sold Plymouth Prowler right to GM. Everyday you learn something new. First, you see GM-made PT cruisers called HHR, now a Plymouth Prowler with a caddy-grill. At this pace, there will be Vipers with a Corvette badge quite soon.
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MajorGeek 11:27PM (11/05/2008)
I owned a Prowler, you need to look into racing before you compare. Prowler was a beautiful design that fell flat on everything else. Foose and many others offer this style of old school racing car.
fixitfixitstop 8:59AM (11/06/2008)
This car shares almost nothing in common with a Prowler.
Darrell 10:46PM (11/05/2008)
does anyone look at this and think of the Cien Concept a while back?
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DC 10:44PM (11/05/2008)
To anyone who may say true art is dead, feast your eyes.
Simply unbelievable.
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why not the LS2LS7? 10:46PM (11/05/2008)
The front is just straight Prowler, which isn't horrible, but it doesn't really push the "new" button for me. The rear is fantastic, and the interior is really good too, especially with the hood up so you can see how the intake flows into the dash.
Is that a Northstar or an LS2? It looks like a Northstar, but I can't be sure.
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