2008 Cadillac CTS on track for 2007 debut
 

2008 Cadillac CTS on track for 2007 debut

By Ed Hellwig Email

Date posted: 04-20-2006

When 60 Minutes recently profiled General Motors, Vice Chairman Bob Lutz pulled back the sheet from what looked like the 2008 Cadillac CTS sedan. He only revealed a corner of the new luxury sedan, but our latest spy photos show an actual prototype in action.

One thing is clear after close examination of the spy shots: The car shown on 60 Minutes was a lightly veiled concept version of the actual 2008 Cadillac CTS. The headlights are an easy tip-off as the main projector beam on the prototype is mounted on top with the marker lights sitting below instead of the other way around.

It also looks as though the horizontal grille slats are less exaggerated than the concept, a design change that's likely to maintain the necessary air flow to the production engine. The rest of the detailing up front looks spot-on. From the air inlets on each side to the size of the badge in the middle, not much changes from concept to prototype.

Profile shots, however, reveal one major new design element you didn't see on the CBS news show. Look past the checkerboard camouflage and it's clear this CTS has much smaller rear doors and windows than the current version. It gives the sedan a profile similar to the Mercedes-Benz CLS500, a car Cadillac would be smart to emulate. It's a design change that could shave a few inches off the rear-passenger area, but given that the CTS is already bigger than most of its rivals it's worth the tradeoff.

There's not much to see out back as this prototype was covered up quite well around the trunk. Although there are taillights visible underneath the tarps, it appears as though the circular protrusions are add-ons designed to keep the engineers from getting rear-ended at the test track rather than actual production units.

Also note the collection of brake lights around the bottom of the skirting. They're likely to be production units as there would be no reason to mount them otherwise. The current CTS has nothing similar so this would be a notable design change that might make the otherwise bland rear end look a little more interesting. Our brief glimpse of an open door doesn't show much of the interior, but you can at least see what the door trim will look like.

One thing we couldn't figure out from these photos is which engines and transmissions will be used for the second-generation CTS. We expect Cadillac will crank up the current 3.6-liter V6 to somewhere in the 280-to-300-horsepower range, putting it up there with the more powerful V6s already on the market. Paired with GM's new six-speed automatic transmission, it would make for a potent CTS capable of keeping pace with rivals like the 306-hp Lexus IS 350 and 298-hp Infiniti G35.

Look for the concept version of the 2008 Cadillac CTS to debut at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show with sales beginning in the fall of 2007

oh man i hope they put an LS7 into the cts-V.

:stupid: :stupid: :stupid: :stupid: :stupid: :stupid: :stupid:


They can put the LS7 into it, but who is going to buy it?

Old men dont buy cadie's for speed, they buy them for luxury.

Over all superb vehicle, If they up the CTS-v to have the LS7 that would be great.

But if you ask any muscle car guy, and gave them the choice between a z06 or a cts-v, its no contest. Darrrrrrrrrrrrrr :fing02: :fing02:

:fing02:

obviously i would take a Z06 over a cts-v, but i still think it would be cool to have an LS7 and still be able to carry 3-4 more people in the car with me as well.

I really like the direction GM is taking the Caddy's I cant say the same thing for most of its other brands