Add this to your Christmas list for next year! Cadillac has revealed that a V-Series high-performance variant of the new 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe will share the spotlight with a new concept at the Detroit auto show next month. The concept is believed to be a pre-production version of either the ATS or XTS small and large cars that Cadillac has been teasing over the past year or so.
So far, Cadillac has released only this tightly cropped teaser picture of the unnamed concept and the promise that it will showcase the latest advances in Cadillac’s Art and Science design language. While the picture purposely obscures the vehicle, we can see that it is a sedan and bears significant resemblance to the current CTS but with new headlights and mirrors likely too small to see production.
Based on information provided by our own Todd Lassa during a no-photographs open house at GM headquarters back in August, we believe this concept is the XTS. Lassa described the XTS as having a short axle-to-dash ratio and a grille that blended styling elements of the Sixteen and Converj concepts. The car he was shown was also painted gray while the ATS was painted blue, though GM has had more than enough time to repaint them. The ATS, meanwhile, was described as having a shorter, wider grille to make the car look wider, not taller. This picture appears to suggest a larger car, but the angle makes it difficult to be certain.
If it is the XTS, it will most likely be built on a stretched version of GM’s Epsilon II FWD architecture and will likely feature the 3.6L direct-injection V-6 engine and will offer AWD. If it’s the ATS, it would likely be built on a shortened Sigma platform and will be RWD, likely using both V-6 and four-cylinder engines. Both cars are planned for a 2011 debut likely as 2012 models.
