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2016 Cadillac CT6 First Drive [w/video]

Cadillac moved to New York, renamed its cars and crossovers, and made cutting-edge technology one of its pillars. It's fighting hard to attract new customers and kill its outdated reputation as an old-man car brand in the United States. Change happens slowly, and then sometimes, all at once. Enter the 2016 Cadillac CT6. This is Cadillac's range-topping sedan. It's almost as long as the Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7 Series, yet in some configurations, it's lighter than their smaller siblings, the E-Class and 5 Series. The CT6 is a rolling showcase of General Motors' latest and best technologies, with potential breakthrough features like Super Cruise semi-autonomous driving waiting in the wings. It comes in a wide variety of flavors. The CT6 starts as low as $54,490 with a four-cylinder engine and rear-wheel drive, which is the car that Cadillac hopes will be cross-shopped with the mid-tier Germans. The top-end CT6 Platinum with all-wheel drive and the 404-horsepower V6 begins at $84,460, and it could make S-Class and 7 Series buyers rethink American luxury. Put simply, the CT6 means everything to Cadillac, but it will mean different things to its customers. It can be the executive chauffeur with all the backseat accouterments. Or it can be the massive yet somehow kinda sporty and nimble rear-wheel-drive sedan that weighs only 3,657 pounds. We tried both versions and came away impressed with both the strategy and the execution. It's a little strange to think that Cadillac doesn't offer a V8 in its biggest sedan. Taking the wheel on a sunny, cool day in rural San Diego County, we wonder if a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine has what it takes to really move this giant. Our concerns quickly dissipate – this engine is also under the hood of the Chevy Camaro, and its 265 hp and 295 pound-feet of torque are more than up for the task. The big sedan handles curvy mountain roads adeptly. There's not a lot of roll for a car this size, even when we're aggressively whipping through tight turns. This poise comes from the CT6's rigid, lightweight aluminum and steel structure called Omega. We switch through the driving modes but settle on sport for the dash to the lunch spot. The steering is surprisingly tight and the brakes have strong response with little pedal travel. After a quick bite in an old mining town called Julian, we take off in the spotlight CT6, the Platinum trim, powered by the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6. It's an enjoyable car to stretch out on the highway.

Cadillac CT6 V-Sport wants to take prisoners with 550-hp 4.2L TT V8

With the refresh of the Cadillac CT6 for 2019, Cadillac welcomes the first CT6 V-Sport as well as a new trim strategy. The changes at the front for the CT6 lineup don't appear substantial viewed head-on, one needs a side view to appreciate the greater three-dimensionality. Thinner headlights and a thinner bumper above a slightly larger lower front intake emphasize the mesh grille, and the vertical LED DRLs make more dramatic statements thanks to those narrower headlights. By angling the main units back toward the rear of the sedan, the CT6 now has a certified, sculpted snout. The rework appears to add substantial overhang, but overall length only increases by a tenth of an inch, to 204.1 inches. What's under the V-Sport's probing hood is just as interesting as the redesign and the sporting thrust: A clean-sheet design of a 4.2-liter DOHC twin-turbo V8. In the V-Sport, the engine produces 550 horsepower and a Bentley-esque 627 pound-feet of torque. As an optional engine elsewhere in the CT6 range, the same engine produces 500 hp and 553 lb-ft. The displacement, specs, plus the fact that "each engine will be hand-built at the Performance Build Center in Bowling Green, Kentucky" indicate this was one of the rumored powerplants for the mid-engine Corvette. The coming sports car was tipped to get a 4.2-liter and 5.5-liter DOHC twin-turbo V8. Based on the position of the turbos in this engine vs. their positions in the previous CAD drawings, we assume the drawings represented the 5.5-liter. (Note: Cadillac said Corvette will not get the new 4.2-liter twin-turbo engine.) The 4.2-liter item features an aluminum block, heads, and pistons, direct injection with a 9.8:1 compression ratio, cylinder deactivation, cylinder oil jets, and a variable-pressure oil system. The twin-scroll turbochargers capable of 20 pounds of boost sit in the 90-degree vee, working alongside twin water-to-air intercoolers, twin throttle bodies, and twin electric wastegates. Cadillac says 90 percent of torque arrives at 2,000 rpm and loiters through 5,200 rpm. Power gets sent through GM's 10L90 ten-speed automatic transmission and on to the standard all-wheel-drive system. Cadillac didn't list 0-to-60-mph times in its press release, but engineers have track-worthy alacrity in mind for the CT6 V-Sport.

A few signs that Cadillac's revival is taking hold

Only a flatworm would not have predicted the Cadillac ATS would help increase sales for America's erstwhile luxury brand of record; however, even the best automotive oracles didn't realize by how much: The ATS fueled a 49-percent increase of the brand's year-on-year sales in March, the sixth straight month of growth for Cadillac. The momentum helped push General Motors to post a 6.4-increase in sales in March versus 2012, leading its domestic competitors.
Dealership salesmen are among the first to register the shift occurring at Cadillac. A Texas dealer related an incident in which he helped a mother affix a baby seat in a car for a test drive, explaining that as opposed to the older buyers that are still a Cadillac mainstay he's getting "a pretty diverse group that's coming through the door now" who are "younger and better educated." Aided by incentives on the ATS, Cadillac's sales are up 38 percent so far this year, overtaking Acura as the fourth best selling luxury brand, and GM stock is benefiting with incremental gains because of it. Based on early response, the new 2014 Cadillac CTS should keep things going in the same direction.
The trend at the Wreath and Crest is part of a larger sales trend happening among domestics - with other models like the Dodge Dart and Ford Fusion doing well - and overall US car sales. Head over to Bloomberg for the big picture and role the ATS plays in it.