This change can be summarized with the fact that luxury cars can’t be sold just for what they are anymore. Although the prestige of their manufacturers hasn’t changed much, everything else has. The market received more options than ever, whose different origins and styles turned out to be just as appealing. Environmental concerns have become big enough to make the downsizing strategy reach even them. And the traditional concept of luxury, composed by blatant expressions of wealth – flashy colors, massive size, shiny inserts, unusual equipments… – is now seen as frivolous and/or tacky by most people. From another point of view, this concept ceased to be what this customer wants. With this in mind, it was only a matter of time for this change to reach even companies such as Cadillac.
Of course, you might remember that GM’s fancy division has been updating itself since the 1990s. The truth is, this case wasn’t the same. Until the last decade, Cadillac’s tweaks were largely restricted to the design. Models such as Fleetwood or DTS were great followers of the styling trends of their respective times, but they were usually based on old platforms, which came along with old engines. At the time, the few exceptions included Catera and BLS, but only because they were badge-engineered versions of models created by other divisions. Cadillac could only really enter the modern-day luxury world in the current decade, specially thanks to ATS, CTS and Escalade. Since things have finally started to pick up, now it’s time to fly higher.
CT6 continues Cadillac’s latest renovation, but takes it to a new level. This is the first execution of its new naming structure, whose letters stand for Cadillac Touring. The number is an indication of the car’s position in the lineup, which means this is its very latest flagship sedan – XTS’ inexpressive design and front-wheel-drive were enough to stop it from ever getting renewed. If you want to know how serious is the automaker this time, here are some rather interesting facts: it’s the first use of GM’s Omega platform; mechanically, it’s sophisticated more than enough for a car placed above the current CTS; and it features a wonderful weight-reducing work using aluminum. According to Cadillac, CT6 combines BMW 7-Series’ internal space with overall weight similar to 5-Series’.
When it comes to design, CT6 respected how conservative is this category. Instead of betting on new stuff, it mostly takes the elements already seen on other recent Cadillacs to the full-size-sedan proportion. The front fascia repeats the imponent upper grille and the elegant graphics created by the headlights, the vertical LED strips, and the chrome inserts of the lower grilles. The sides are a less sporty version of CTS’ – there are small third windows here, so as to restore the visual balance with a longer profile. At the rear, the all-red lights are very discreet, the chrome bar is absent, to reinforce the idea of a modern-day luxury sedan, and the third box has the perfect length: short enough to convey some sportiness, but long enough to avoid resembling a four-door coupé.
If the exterior has already started to convince you this is a new kind of Cadillac, the interior will impress you once again. The two-tone coating comes in several color schemes, but the chrome inserts were kept to a minimum. On the central console, only the quad-zone climate controls use buttons. Everything else is operated by the CUE system, which was updated and now uses both a 10.2” touchscreen and a touchpad – the latter reads handwritten letters. A 1280-by-240 LCD hides behind the internal mirror and unobstructs its image whenever you want. Other equipments include 10” screens for the rear seats, wireless phone charging, built-in 4G LTE with Wi-Fi, many electronic safety systems, and an optional Bose Panaray stereo with 34 speakers.
You must’ve read about when Cadillac used a 16-cylinder engine, and you surely remember of its ever-thirsty V8s. Since CT6 is a modern-day luxury-car, that number was halved again: CT6’s lesser unit is GM’s turbocharged 2.0, which will be good for 265 hp. If you want more, the direct-injected 3.6 V6 delivers 335 hp, and the upscale, twin-turbocharged 3.0 V6 reaches 400 hp. The latter two are all-new, but all of them always use eight automatic speeds. While the 2.0 uses rear-wheel-drive, the others have active AWD as standard, which takes 60% of the power to the rear axle in normal conditions, 50% in winter mode, and 70% in sport mode. There are also Magnetic Ride Control dampers, and the available Active Chassis with rear steering. CT6 will go on sale in the end of the year.