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This Cadillac CTS Ute Has Ford Pinto Taillights: Photos

GM pickup trucks are a dime a dozen, but there’s a very special one making waves on social media. It’s a second-generation Cadillac CTS coupe with a rear end chopped into a truck bed. If you thought it couldn’t get any weirder, the taillights are sourced from the infamous Ford Pinto.

This [Cadillac CTS Ute] seen outside a motorsports shop in the PNW
byu/dumbseeyouintea inspotted


“This [Cadillac CTS Ute] seen outside a motorsports shop in the PNW,” reads the caption of a Reddit post in the r/spotted subreddit. “CTS with Pinto taillights on a retro El Camino conversion,” says a Threads post, comparing this build to the classic Chevy ute. But the most thorough photo gallery we’ve seen of the car is in a post in the Facebook group Front And Rear End Swaps, which gives us a better look at the bed and its tonneau cover.

Cadillac CTS ute bed.

The Pinto taillights aren’t the only Ford-sourced parts on this odd Cadillac CTS pickup. The tailgate is from a Ford Ranger. The old flare-side Ranger had a rather narrow tailgate, which makes it a popular choice for ute conversions of sedans and coupes; a tailgate from a more traditional pickup is simply too big. The tailgate on this CTS is tastefully adorned with a Cadillac crest in the middle and “CTS4” and “3.6” badging in the lower corners, all of which are period-correct. You’d almost think the tailgate is from an Escalade EXT.

 

View on Threads

 

Impressively, the dots in the rear bumper suggest that this Cadillac CTS still has rear parking sensors. A dual center-exit exhaust system hides underneath. Presumably, this truck still has its original DOHC 3.6L V6 LFX, rated at 318 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque.

As far as two-door ute conversions go, this one is pretty clean and looks like a professional job. Using Ford Pinto taillights was an odd choice, but we think it actually works aesthetically. This unusual ute makes us wonder what could’ve been if GM had the guts to make a two-seater Cadillac CTS EXT to complement the sedan, coupe, and wagon body styles of the second-gen CTS.

George is an automotive journalist with soft spots for classic GM muscle cars, Corvettes, and Geo.

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Comments

  1. Any way you look at it, it’s out there with lots of work don’t nice but not great.

    Reply
  2. Almost looks sharp with the modern-retro thing going.

    Hope they got the unibody engineering right though. (Think of the classic Buster Keaton “Three Ages” where his whole car falls apart and he’s left with the steering wheel…)

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  3. Poor Coupe…

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  4. I think the SSR is alot better looking Bi

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  5. Those tailights are from a Ford Pinto wagon.

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    1. Yes, a good choice. The bed is awfully short, but no one builds one of these to be a work truck anyway.

      Reply
  6. Actually, I think it looks pretty good.

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  7. Do not like much pickups but this design work was done all correct

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  8. Looks good. One of a kind Caddy.

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  9. I Like It. It’s called customizing, individualization, and has been going on since the wheeled vehicles have been on Earth.

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  10. Wonder if the bed is actually usable, or if it’s mostly for appearance with bracing taking up the inside?

    Again this took serious rework of the unibody structure. Hope they got it right.

    Reply
    1. It would be interesting to install a hot tub in the back! WooHoo!

      Reply

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