Our spies capture the new 2014 Cadillac CTS. Photo credit: Jim Dunne CAR SPY
Look for Cadillac to unveil an all-new version of the CTS sedan at the New York Auto Show next month. These camouflaged spy shots give you a good idea what to expect.
The CTS is a critical product line for Cadillac. It originally was used to introduce the maker’s distinctive Art & Science design theme and was the maker’s first model in years to give much of a challenge to European imports like BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
But the first two generations of the Cadillac CTS were what you might call “tweener” cars, slotted in-between key competitors like the BMW 3- and 5-Series models and the Mercedes C- and E-Class lines. Now, with the launch of the compact Caddy ATS, the Detroit maker is repositioning the 2014 CTS to go directly after the bigger and more expensive of those European offerings.
One of four CTS sedans caught in convoy. Photo credit: Jim Dunne CAR SPY
It will take some real marketing muscle to win over import loyalists, as 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,” he acknowledged.
(For more on Cadillac’s plans for the 2014 CTS, Click Here.)
Caught out on a prototype test run was a quartet of future Cadillacs, the CTS type. Now growing from mid to full-size, the new CTS sedan continues Cadillac chassis design protocol in its rear-wheel-drive layout.
The 2014 CTS will grow larger and move up-market to compete with the likes of the BMW 5-Series. Photo credit: Jim Dunne CAR SPY
Design changes are most prominent in the front view. A much larger grille opening with centered Cadillac crest clearly identifies the car as GM’s prestige sedan line. Also, look closely and you may discern the top of the front fender line separate from the line of the hood. Sixteen- (?) and ten-spoke wheels are part of the new styling, at least if these test cars are any indication.
Compare the different grilles for their different air intake arrangement. The mostly white-camouflaged car has much of the grille blocked off, narrowing the air intake. This indicates a smaller engine, with a concurrent need for less combustion air.
The various images suggest Cadillac will offer a range of small, medium and large engines for the 2014 CTS. Photo credit: Jim Dunne CAR SPY
The front view with the camo peeling back from the grille has a much larger intake area – a sign that a bigger engine is still going to be available, perhaps as the next-gen CTS-V performance sedan. Larger rear wheels also indicate a –V model.
We’ll have to keep our spy shooters busy looking for the next version of the Cadillac CTS coupe, so stay tuned for more to come. And, of course, we’ll have full details from NY’ Jacob Javits Center during the official unveiling of the 2014 Cadillac CTS.