CTS-based coupe may be headed for dealerships by 2008

By JENS MEINERS

AutoWeek | Published 05/09/06, 8:20 am

Cadillac plans to re-enter the coupe segment with a powerfully styled CTS-based two-door, possibly by 2008 as a 2009 model.

Cadillac had hoped to keep a lid on the project, which was pushed back because of General Motors’ financial situation. The program has not been officially approved, but work is well under way—and “Bob Lutz really wants it,” sources familiar with the project tell AutoWeek. “The biggest problem for this car is GM has other, more urgent business to take care of right now.”

Insiders describe the coupe as a “bold and elegant” design statement. “This car is a new and powerful interpretation of the two-door coupe theme,” one source says.

The coupe wears now-familiar Cadillac design cues—a big, V-shaped grille, a high, wedge-shaped beltline and vertical taillights on a short trunk.

Cadillac’s coupe will be based on the upcoming, second-generation CTS sedan, which was partially unveiled April 2 by GM vice chairman Lutz on the CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes. On the

program Lutz pulled back a car cover revealing a dramatic Cadillac grille and headlight cluster, along with a taillight, but stopped short of showing the rest of the car. Now that our spies have snapped these photographs of the actual next-generation CTS in testing, it is obvious the car Lutz showed on 60 Minutes was the 2008 CTS.

The Cadillac coupe will share its platform, front end and fender styling with the CTS, along with some other sheetmetal, to help Cadillac keep down the cost of the coupe. The coupe could come to market following the 2007 launch of the next-generation CTS sedan.

The same V6 engines offered in the CTS will power the coupe, but a V-Series coupe with a 400-hp-plus Northstar V8 under the hood is likely as well. Cadillac also is mulling over a convertible version. “It would add cost, but convertibles are where the volume is generated in this segment,” says a source.

The shrinking coupe market could be a worry for Cadillac. Main contenders include the Mercedes-Benz CLK, BMW 3 Series coupe, Infiniti G35 coupe and the upcoming Audi A5, a 2008 model year coupe based on the next-gen A4. Cadillac’s problem: Its new coupe will be significantly larger than the CLK, 3 Series and G35, raising questions of pricing and market positioning against larger and more luxurious coupes like the A5 and BMW 6 Series.

An insider estimates volumes of 25,000 to 30,000 cars annually. “They don’t know whether that is enough,” the source says. “It is a difficult market, with high initial volumes that tend to drop sharply after 18 months or so.”

While the CTS-based coupe could be developed quickly, there is speculation of a larger coupe with a V12 engine that carries design cues of the Cadillac Sixteen concept car and could be sold in the $75,000 range.

“The new vehicle is definitely a Cadillac,” an insider says. “There is a lot of enthusiasm for it within the company.” GM can probably expect that enthusiasm to extend to fans of the marque who appreciate its history.

Cadillac has a rich heritage of high-class coupes, including the 400-hp, 500-cid Eldorado of the early 1970s, and the Pininfarina-styled and built Allante convertible of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Cadillac’s last coupe was the Seville-based Eldorado Touring Coupe that ceased production in 2003.

Ακομα και με το καμο φενεται ωραιο. Οι φημες λενε για κινητηρα 305 ιππων απο 3.6 λιτρα, V6 και με DI.

^ LOL

2008 Cadillac CTS - - By DUTCH MANDEL - - Source: Autoweek

Leave it to folks at Cadillac—they seem to know where they’re going and what they’ve got to do to get there. General Motors’ flagship division, reborn shortly after the turn of this century with a striking, angular family look, must keep its momentum going. The debut of a redesigned 2008 CTS at this week’s North American International Auto Show points up that they are not likely to suffer a sophomore jinx.

Scheduled for a late-summer U.S. launch, the anything-but-conservative CTS will be exported worldwide in the fall. Eyeing beyond North America’s horizons, out across the oceans, Caddy is spoiling for a fight; if it is to succeed it will be thanks to its all-American character and polarizing style.

“The core value for this vehicle has been style. It allows for the separation and the differentiation from others in the luxury group,” says Cadillac’s Jim Taylor, an engineer by training, a marketing man by design and the one who leads the division spiritually and aesthetically. “CTS has built a strong record of success on many levels,” Taylor says. “It has exceeded our goals for sales volume, set new design trends, won championships in racing and earned awards for quality and customer satisfaction.” This new CTS appears to take the next step.

Cadillac sold more than 61,000 CTS models in the U.S. in 2005, compared to roughly 38,000 in 2002, an increase of 60 percent. For 2006 through the first 11 months in which data are available, Caddy is just slightly off its 2005 pace, which in this day is almost a win. Roughly 275,000 CTS owners exist worldwide, and Cadillac research says those owners are among the most satisfied in the market.

Visually, the five-passenger sedan has the stuff to please them all. The CTS carries a two-inch wider track (to fit its optional all-wheel-drive system); the increased stance gives it a better tire-to-wheel-well relationship. Its profile is more rakish, thanks in part to a grille virtually lifted from the Cadillac Sixteen concept. The large chrome grille is upright and gives CTS a more in-your-face attitude than before. A large Caddy wreath-and-crest badge finishes a face balanced with stacked headlights fitted with jewel-like bezels. Fog lamps flank a low air opening and brake duct intakes. If this second-generation CTS evokes anything, it is that designers are eager to integrate Cadillac’s legacy design cues.

Side air extractors forward of the front doors are another visual cue that something different lurks beneath. Brightwork details include chrome around side windows and chromed exhaust outlets.

Even at the rear, with vertical taillights, designers integrated this reborn Cadillac style; its decklid carries the angular theme with the slightest hint of a high-performance spoiler.

CTS’ design evolution follows inside with cues that hint of greater performance and luxury. That might sound like superfluous PR speak, but it is not: This interior exceeds expectations, reaching far beyond the values of the car it replaces. This new CTS is a living beauty; if you were to climb behind the wheel of both generation cars, not a single person would choose the older model. It’s that dramatic.

Change was affected by several factors. First was ideology. Corporate powers finally understood the demand to spend money on a car’s living environment to make it aesthetically, emotionally and dynamically competitive. That meant no scrimping on materials. Why? People—customers—live in cars. Customers want that time to be exceptional; that won’t be the case if they’re cocooned in fake-aluminum, plastic-touch, fossil-fuel-based materials. So Cadillac invested in technology, materials and construction to make the CTS cabin a blend of precise tailoring and character.

The upper instrument panel and door trim surfaces are hand-cut, sewn and wrapped by craftsmen; this cut-and-sew execution gives CTS a tailored feel. The good news for all Cadillac owners is it is now so well received that it is Cadillac’s

future design edict. Analog instruments are tightly framed and get bright accents. An

integrated center stack, in satin metallic finish or wood, blends into the lower instrument panel; it sweeps forward and away from front-seat occupants. A hand-assembled center console leads to a center stack that imparts a cockpit-like feel. The center console accepts iPods or other digital music media via a USB port; no, that’s not entirely new technology, but it is a capability that helps to bring Cadillac’s age profile down.

Continuing inside, a 300-watt, 10-speaker Bose stereo system is optional; an eight-speaker Bose system is standard. A DVD-based navigation unit calculates routes 30 percent faster than today’s GM devices, according to Cadillac.

Clean, white ambient light emitting diode (LED) backlighting is set in the door pulls and footwells and recessed between upper and lower instrument panels.

So that’s what the outside and inside look like, but if it won’t perform it won’t sell either in the U.S. or as an export. A new 3.6-liter direct-injection V6 with an estimated 300 hp and 270 lb-ft of torque is new to CTS and becomes the top engine option. This powerplant joins an existing 3.6-liter V6 with 258 hp and 252 ft-lb of torque; the lesser-powered engine doesn’t have the direct injection, which assists not only

in increasing power and torque, but also extends the fuel range. A 210-hp 2.8-liter V6 comes only on the rear-drive export model.

To go up against the Euro-lux competition, CTS gets an all-wheel-drive option for the first time. Additionally, two transmission choices are available as six-speeds—an Aisin manual or, new for CTS, a Hydra-Matic 6L50 automatic.

Anyone who says Cadillac isn’t serious about taking on Audi, Mercedes and BMW on these shores or at their front door hasn’t seen this new weapon in the GM arsenal. On paper, and on the show floor, it looks as competitive as anything available. Now if only the Caddy designers could create a CTS Coupe or Estate version for Europe, they’d truly be able to go toe to toe.

Μεγαλυτερες φωτο:

http://www.acurazine.com/forums/showpos ... tcount=201

http://www.acurazine.com/forums/showpos ... tcount=191

http://www.acurazine.com/forums/showpos ... tcount=189

http://www.acurazine.com/forums/showpos ... tcount=182

Απο πλευρας εξωτερικου design καλυτερο και απο BMW και απο Mercedes στην ιδια κατηγορια.