One of several images of the 2014 Cadillac CTS that have "leaked" out to the media.
Just days ahead of its planned unveiling at the New York Auto Show, images of the all-new, third-generation Cadillac CTS have “leaked” out on the Internet through what some suggest is a coy way for the automaker to drum up advance interest.
And it’s likely to do just that. That CTS has been Cadillac’s best-selling model for much of the past decade and is expected to undergo a significant makeover for 2014 that will result in a larger and more luxurious vehicle. Where it has been something of a “tweener” car in its first two generations, the 2014 Cadillac CTS is expected to take direct aim at some of the toughest competitors in the business, notably including the BMW 5-Series.
Cadillac has shown an unexpected ability to take on the Germans with the smaller ATS model launched last year. The 3-Series-sized sedan has won an assortment of kudos, including being named North American Car of the Year last January.
The interior of the 2014 Cadillac CTS is expected to have a lot of similarities to the new Caddy ELR plug-in.
The ATS has cut into sales of the current CTS and, long-term, the smaller sedan will likely become the brand’s best-seller. But the 2014 CTS is expected to plant a flag in the ground to say that Cadillac is serious about its long-promised “renaissance.”
These images, along with spy shots we previously posted on TheDetroitBureau.com, reveal that the 2014 CTS will maintain the Cadillac Art & Science design language introduced with the very first CTS model. But the overall look appears to be a little less edgy, apparently trying to give the larger and more expensive model a more sculpted and sophisticated feel.
The use of LED accent lights and narrow headlamps maintains the vertical styling theme Cadillac has used since the days of the finned Eldorado.
Meanwhile, an interior detail shot suggests the use of lavish woods and metals that, if matched by the rest of the cabin, indicate the new model is clearly moving up-market. As TheDetroitBureau.com reported several months ago, the interior of the 2014 Cadillac CTS will share many basic details with that of the lavishly executed new Caddy ELR plug-in hybrid.
Bob Ferguson, Cadillac’s new global market chief, recently acknowledged, “We are positioning that car as a step up, so there will be a marketing challenge to reposition that car.” We should hear more about the marketing strategy for the 2014 CTS in New York.
One detail we do know for sure is that the gen-3 sedan will feature an all-new Twin-Turbo V-6 that is expected to pump out 420 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque. The new twin turbo packages will be directly targeted at the 4.4-liter BMW V-8 which produces 400 hp and 450 lb-ft of torque. Cadillac’s engine is about 40 pounds lighter which, the maker claims, should give it an additional advantage.
Cadillac plans to offer three different powertrains for the 2014 CTS, including a 2.0-liter single-turbo inline-four, a 3.6-liter naturally aspirated V-6, and the new twin-turbo, which will also displace 3.6 liters.