Cadillac is now a true luxury brand.
No automaker wishing to challenge the world’s best can do so without a flagship luxury sedan. With the launch of the CT6, Cadillac has legitimized its claims.
Fittingly unveiled in the city that’s home to its new corporate headquarters new CT6 is also the first of a new era of Cadillacs to wear the brand’s new alphanumeric nomenclature.
“Luxury brands are built from the top down,” said Cadillac Chief Marketing Officer Uwe Ellinghaus. “Adding a dynamic, top-of-the-range car is central to Cadillac’s elevation and global growth.”
Big news for the brand, the CT6 is definitely big. Stretching 204-inches it’s 4-inches longer than a BMW 7 Series and boasts a wheelbase that’s 1.5-inches longer as well. This gives room for a rear seat with 40-inches of legroom, roughly an inch more than the BMW.
While Cadillac has had big rear-wheel drive sedans in the past, there hasn’t been one that competed grille-to-grille with the Germans in decades. . . a lot of decades.
But that’s what Caddy is promising with this ground-up flagship that it says weighs more like a BMW 5 Series. In fact the aluminum architecture of the car is, Cadillac claims, roughly 218 lbs lighter than a comparable version made of high-strength steel.
And while a light weight rigid chassis is ideal for things like fuel economy, Cadillac insists its most interested in performance. Brand president Johan de Nysschen says that by encorporating lessons learned while developing the brand’s V line of performance models the CT6 “reignites a passion for driving in large luxury vehicles,” and, “results in something that has been lost in the segment: the exhilaration of a true driver’s car.”
Helping to deliver the promise of class-leading agility the CT6 uses the brand’s Magnetic Ride control shocks but also a new Active Rear Steer system that’s designed for quicker low-speed responsiveness and better high-speed stability.
A rear-drive vehicle, it will come available with an all-wheel drive system that varries power to the front using a continuously variable clutch.
As for power, the feature engine is a new 3.0-liter twin-turbo unit that produces 400 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque. Both a 335 hp 3.6-liter V6 and a 265 hp 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylidner will also be available with an 8-speed transmission paired to each unit.
In addition to power and performance Cadillac is also using the CT6 to debut numerous new technologies. Among them is a camera system that can record what is in front and behind the car while driving, or even a full 360-degree view is the security system is activated.
But that’s not all video is used for. Instead of a conventional rear-view mirror, the CT6 actually trades apiece of reflective glass for a video screen that broadcasts what’s behind the car. And speaking of screens, there’s a 10.2-inch display screen that houses the brand’s CUE use interface, which Cadillac says is now more responsive. A redundant touchpad on the center console also makes operating CUE easier.
Other highlights include an auto-park feature that now includes a collision prevention mechanism, a hands-free trunk and there’s even a Wi-Fi hotspot.
Passengers can enjoy browsing from the luxurious cabin that includes a selection of leathers, woods and carbon fiber with an available Articulating Rear Seat package that offers 3.3-inches of adjustable seat travel, lumbar, tilting cushions, heated and cooled seats as well as a massaging function. There’s also an entertainment package that includes two 10-inch seat-mounted screens. There’s even a four-zone climate control system and new Bose Panaray audio system that boasts 34 speakers.
The CT6 is, however, just the start of a new era for Cadillac with the brand promising 8 more all-new models by 2020.
