For those of you who have watched the popular car building show, Count’s Kustoms, you may be familiar with Danny “The Count” Koker. He’s made a name for himself in Las Vegas, and all over the world, building some of the most impressive hot rods, muscle cars, trucks, vans and just about anything else on wheels.
In fact, he’s so known for building older cars, that there’s been a misconception of him “not liking” anything built in the last thirty years. Nothing could be further from the truth, and Danny wanted to take the opportunity to clear that up. In recent weeks, he’s been hosting a min-show on his YouTube channel, that spotlights some of his favorite projects, friend’s vehicles and his own personal cars.
In this case, he wanted to dive into one of his daily drivers, a 2008 Cadillac STS-V. Based on the then popular STS, the V-series provided its owner with a 469hp, supercharged 4.4L version of the 4.6L Northstar V8 found in the base car. Performance meant having a 4,000+ pound Cadillac that ran mid-13s in the quarter-mile, topped out at 160mph and provided a 0-60mph acceleration in the 4-second zone.
Naturally, Danny can’t leave anything alone — even his daily drivers. So he had his team install a CORSA Performance catback exhaust system, and then he shipped the car to to D3Cadillac in Southern California. Known specifically for modifying late-model Cadillacs, D3 took Danny’s car to the next level with, essentially, simple bolt-ons.
With a cold-air induction kit, smaller pulleys and tuning, as well as a few other tiny details, the STS-V now cranks out 581 horsepower to the tires. Despite this little factoid, the car is still docile in traffic, quiet enough to haul business clients in, and take on long trips. It has to be, it’s a car he relies on to get back and forth to the shop on a daily basis.
On the inside, the car is all standard issue STS-V — Danny refused to change the interior at all. Back to the exterior, and the V sits on 19-inch diameter Fikse wheels at all four corners; 19×9 in the front and 19×10 out back. Sure, he could have went larger, but he insisted on the 19s — he wanted a bit more rubber (sidewall) than what a larger diameter wheel would have provided. This allows a comfortable ride, while keeping the car “correct.”
Overall, we dig Danny’s Caddy, and it’s great to see guys out there still enjoying these boosted Northstars. If you’re ever in the Vegas area, you just might get buzzed by this thing while cursing the strip.
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of AutoCentric Media, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles; GM, Ford, Dodge, imports, trucks — you name it! When he isn’t clacking away on his keyboard, he’s building, tuning, driving or testing his current crop of personal projects!
