Cadillac's new ATS reaches showrooms over the summer, shortly after the launch of the big XTS.
It may be Cadillac’s smallest model but the new ATS sedan has some big shoes to fill.
Making its debut at the 2012 North American International Auto Show, in Detroit, this week, Caddy gave the automotive media a sneak peak Sunday night at the 2013 model, which will follow the luxury brand’s premium-luxury XTS sedan to market later this year.
Slotting beneath the current mid-range Cadillac CTS, the 2013 ATS will target some of the world’s most popular luxury models, like the BMW 3-Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. But Caddy officials are nothing if not confident, General Motors President Mark Reuss suggesting that the new offering should eventually become the best-selling model in the Cadillac line-up – and give the U.S. brand the nudge it needs to crack key overseas markets like Europe.
The 2013 Cadillac ATS will be produced at a GM plant in Lansing, Michigan, the same factory now producing the larger CTS. The underlying platform for the two share some similarities, but Caddy Chief Engineer David Leone stresses that the “architecture” of the smaller model has undergone extensive revisions designed to not only improved its ride and handling but also to sharply reduce its weight.
Other than the short-lived BLS, sold only in Europe, the new ATS is the first Caddy compact since an '80s-era failure called Cimarron.
It is expected to come in “substantially below” 3400 pounds, though GM officials weren’t ready to provide precise figures during the ATS preview.
They have said that the new compact Cadillac sedan will be offered with a trio of engines, including a new 270-horsepower turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four that, the maker boasts, turns out more horsepower per liter then the V-12 used in Lamborghini’s new flagship supercar the Aventador.
The new Cadillac ATS will also be offered with a high-mileage 2.5-liter naturally aspirated I-4, along with a 3.6-liter V-6 that it will share with both the mid-range Caddy CTS and flagship XTS. Reuss broadly hinted that there could be a diesel engine added to the line-up during the ATS’s first generation on the market.
And Cadillac Chief Engineer hinted “you might see” an even higher-performance version of the ATS that would wear the “V” badge used on such models as the 556-horsepower CTS-V.
Design is another drawing card, Cadillac officials are betting, the ATS picking up on the edgy “Art & Science” styling language introduced by the original Cadillac CTS.
Several Cadillac insiders suggested that as with the CTS, the maker will follow the sedan with other body styles, perhaps including a wagon and a coupe.
The new ATS will be loaded with a variety of high-tech safety, performance and creature comfort systems, among them the all-new CUE infotainment system, which can, among other things, be operated using conventional speech rather than the rigid command language needed for other telematics systems. (For more on the Caddy CUE system, Click Here.)
With the introduction of the new ATS, which goes on sale next summer, Cadillac plans to move the next-generation CTS up-market, repositioning it more directly against the likes of the BMW 5-Series and Audi A6. The new model is considered the right size to take to Europe, though Reuss said GM is in no rush to make that move, since it has failed there several times in recent decades.
“We want the Europeans to want it before we sell it there,” he suggested.
But the likelihood of a wagon, as well as a diesel, for the ATS line clearly indicates Cadillac is looking at its European options.
As for the new XTS – which comes to market in spring – will target the likes of the BMW 7-Series and Mercedes S-Class.
While the ATS and CTS will greatly expand Cadillac’s line-up the maker has a long way to go to match its European competitors model-for-model, acknowledged Reuss, who said a look at what makers like Mercedes and BMW offer could reveal some of the niches Caddy plans to fill in the coming years.
The introduction of the ATS coincided with the unveiling of the New Mercedes-Benz SL roadster a few miles away. When asked if he saw the possibility of his American competitor regaining ground, Mercedes brand boss – and Daimler AG CEO – Dieter Zetsche said the luxury market is likely to grow for all competent competitors.
Joe Phillippi, chief analyst with AutoTrends Consulting, said the Germans shouldn’t be sanguine when it comes to Caddy’s chances. “I think the ATS is going to be very competitive,” he said, adding that, “It’s spectacular.”
But it was also a costly car to bring to market, Phillippi said, estimating the basic cost of developing the ATS could have reached $500 million – before tooling – which means it will have to become Cadillac’s best-seller if the luxury brand hopes to turn a profit on the new ATS.