The Cadillac CT6 Will Weigh Less Than The CTS, Get Twin-Turbo V6
The CT6 has to compete in rarified air, and Cadillac is filling it with every technology it can muster. That means a turbo engine, plug-in hybrid, and a cutting edge chassis design that will help it weigh less than the current CTS.
After last week's investor meeting where Mark Reuss, GM's executive veep of global product development, announced the streaming video mirror (now reportedly called a "thru-view") and hybrid drivetrain, more details on the CT6 have surfaced.
To begin with, a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 will send power to an eight-speed automatic and be augmented with the aforementioned plug-in hybrid setup. Reuss says it will be the most "powerful six-cylinder gas engine in the segment", so it should be something knocking on the 400 hp mark, if not higher when you factor in the electric motor.
Reuss' went even further in boasting about the CT6's technological prowess, saying that the chassis will be "the world's most advanced body structure. And it's not aluminum. It's a stronger, smarter safer premium luxury vehicle." Does that mean a carbon fiber chassis like the one coming to the new BMW 7 Series? Nope.
According to the Detroit News:
The automaker said it has developed a mixed material body structure that combines use of the company's patented welding technology with high-strength steel, aluminum and steel stampings and castings to help create a lightweight vehicle that uses 20 percent fewer parts.
For example, Reuss said GM has taken 20 different parts used on a front body pillar and created one single casting. He said the technology helps improve safety, ride and handling and the quietness of the car.
That apparently adds up to a car that's 53 pounds lighter than the current CTS, while being 8 inches longer and packing a heavy lithium-ion battery. All-in, Reuss claims it will deliver fuel economy that's "upwards of 70 mpg equivalent", and the CT6 will help "make Cadillac again the standard of the world."