The name Cadillac tends to conjure grand images of a luxury vehicle or a classic cruiser that most of the world would think of as outfitted to the nines and “complete” without needing any further modifications or upgrades. But you know better if you’re reading this tale, as here at Slam’d Mag we can’t leave anything well enough alone, and our friend Josh Nepa obviously shares this sentiment. When Josh picked up this 2012 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe he was on a mission to make it stand out from the rest almost immediately. When we asked Josh about his goals with this build his response was simple “Honestly, I just wanted to see how many people I could piss off with a build like this.”
Photos & Words: Will “Krookid Photography” McDougle
To start the mission off getting under the skin of his local “purist” buddies, Josh already knew that laying his ‘V’ out with air suspension was a must. The trick was to find a shop and parts that he could trust to safely modify his beast of a daily driver without sacrificing the performance and comfort that the Cadillac offered. So a wicked stance was the goal, and utilizing Universal Air Suspension ‘bags that adapt to the factory suspension paired with a complete Air Lift Performance digital air management made for the perfect combo. This allowed the car to keep the factory electro-magnetic controlled suspension with the adjustability of air suspension with the reliability that Air Lift is well known for. To add to the look and aggressiveness the front end was upgraded with an APR splitter and Savini 20-inch wheels were custom coated a candy apple red to finish off the menacing look that Josh was after. The finish work in the trunk setup and wrapping up the air ride duties was taken care of by George and Alfredo at A&G Installs in Phoenix. They tied in a custom wood floor with copper air lines running from the dual Viair 480s into the Specialty Suspension seamless air tank with a plexi window viewing the JL Audio amp powering the system, all complimented with a bluetooth controlled custom LED setup.
When taking a closer look at this high-performance beast it’s easy to miss some of the little details such as the custom demon eyes, with accenting red LED halos. Moving to the inside the stock interior is one of the cleanest around and still looks like it is fresh from the factory with a few mild accents. When we spoke with Josh about his passion for customizing cars he shared “since my first car I have always wanted to add my personality to my vehicles and I believe that your car is truly a direct reflection of yourself and your passions.” When we asked if there’s anything left to do for this daily, Josh mentioned that he’ll probably do some minor engine mods to help open her up even more. After all, Josh is Co-Owner of Race Wars Arizona, so we figured he has some tricks up his sleeve for the performance of this beast.
When we look further into what pushes Josh it’s best to note his car club that he started called Narcissistic, and if you know any diehard car guy and/or car gal then you know being Narcissistic is a good description to describe their obsession with their car’s appearance. Josh has been customizing cars for quite some time now with some big builds under his belt. He most recently had two builds that he took to SEMA, including his 1000+ hp Toyota Supra and a wide body supercharged Toyota Tundra that was featured in the Toyota booth. He also has 1968 Chevy Camaro that he is almost finished with, so it’s pretty easy to see that custom cars is a way of life for Josh and not just an overnight hobby. As you can tell, Josh and his crew have some great style and they’re just getting warmed up! Stay tuned, and make sure to check out the Slam’d Specs below for all of the build details.
Slam’d Specs
Owner: Joshua Nepa
Vehicle: 2012 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe
Hometown: Litchfield Park, AZ
Club: Narcissistic Car Club
Wheels/Tires:
Savini Wheels custom coated 20×9, 20×10
Falken Azenis 245/25/20 285/30/20
Chassis/Suspension:
Factory with Universal Air Suspension ‘bags
Air Lift Auto Pilot V2 management
Dual Viair 480c compressors
Custom trunk setup features copper hardline set-up from A&G Installs, with a wooden false floor
Body/Paint:
APR front splitter
Custom demon eyes headlights with halos
Lighting controlled via bluetooth by David Ward of Automotive Custom Lighting
Custom buff and detail of factory black paint
Interior/Stereo:
Bose factory setup w/ iPod control
Free floating Rockford Punch 10-inch subwoofer
JL audio 500w mono block amp
Custom touches throughout including custom mount for Air Lift controller
Engine/Performance:
Supercharged LSA 6.2L (based from the LS9)
556rwhp
Factory inter-cooled
0-60 in an impressive 3.9 seconds
Special Thanks From Owner:
“I have many custom cars, and also co-own Race Wars Arizona, so you can imagine I have a great support team. That being said, my behind the scenes man Jason Wolter is always the first in line to handle anything from custom stereo boxes, to full fiberglass installs, without his help these projects would not be nearly as fun as we pride ourselves on how quickly we can go from stock to fully customized. Also a big thanks to Savini Wheels and everyone else that helped with the build, including Will from Krookid Photography who also shot the photos for Slam’d Mag.”
