Cadillac Allante Pininfarina on 2040-cars

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Cadillac is doing a 'second installment' of the CT6-V for $92,790

After being all but certain the Cadillac CT6 would begin pushing American daisies June 1, the brand said "the CT6 was never meant to be fully on the chopping block." The same day we got that news, Cadillac began taking pre-orders for the CT6-V. Limited to 275 units and costing $88,790 after destination, orders came in so quickly that order books closed only hours later. Turns out the phrase "275 pre-order slots" was another slight miscommunication. Cadillac has announced continued production of the CT6-V, this time costing $92,790. In February, Cadillac Society confirmed with the automaker that the 275 figure only applied to pre-orders. It isn't clear how many CT6-Vs will be built in what the brand calls the "second installment," but it is clear that buyers who didn't get in early will pay more. Cars Direct was privy to a letter sent to dealers that said pre-order buyers "were rewarded with a special introductory offer by quickly raising their hand." Those slow on the draw have hopefully used the extra time to fish another $4,000 from their pockets. The elevated price buys the same car that was $88,790 two months ago - nothing has changed but the bottom line. The new MSRP puts more distance between the hot CT6-V and the $89,290 CTS-V. Conversely, the CT6-V with a Blackwing V8 beating 550 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque is now just $4,000 less than the coming Platinum V8 trim, which costs $96,790. That Platinum version gets a detuned Blacking putting out 500 hp and 553 lb-ft. The vague phrase "second installment" phrase makes us think Cadillac's not committing to a number so it can cap production at will depending on how this more expensive go-round fares. Still, it's good news for anyone who wanted the sedan new and didn't hit the buzzer quickly enough in January. As if all that weren't surprising enough, GM Authority reported that there's a second-gen CT6 in development. The outlet's sources say the new sedan will move to GM's VSS-R platform, the modular architecture that will replace both the Alpha and Omega platforms. The platform initialism stands for Vehicle Set Strategy - Rear-wheel drive. The car even has a codename: 7ESL, where 7 represents the architecture, E the segment, S the sedan body style, and L the Cadillac brand. Looks like the CT6 will be nothing but surprises this year.

Cadillac flagship, possible production Elimiraj, caught testing

One of the biggest debuts at the Monterey car week, both literally and figuratively, was the Cadillac Elmiraj Concept. The massive coupe made quite a splash with the show's well-heeled guests. Now, we have what might be the very first images of the Elmiraj, or whatever it may be called when it reaches production, out testing.
Don't let that modified Chevrolet Caprice body fool you, this car is about four to six inches longer than Chevy's US-spec cop car, from the A-pillar forward. According to our spy, with the Caprice at 203 inches and the concept at 205, adding a few extra inches here and there fits the bill for the four-door Elmiraj that was hinted at in Jay Leno's Garage.
There are a number of other classic mule signs on this car, including a cover over the fuel door and heavily modified front and rear fascias, each of which serves to hide some significant change from the standard Caprice. Using a Caprice for development also, hopefully, hints at something that big Cadillacs like the XTS have lacked - rear-wheel drive.

Remembering Pierre Cardin's automotive legacy

Pierre Cardin has passed away at age 98, and while the designer had a great impact on the world of fashion, he also brought his signature style to the automotive realm, chiefly with the unlikely partner of American Motors. At the dawn of the 1970s, AMC decided to seek out a little glamour for its freshly renewed product lineup by having famous fashion designers work their magic on AMC cars. The first model to get the fashion treatment was the Hornet Sportabout wagon, with a special Gucci edition that became available for 1972. Later that same year, Pierre Cardin's Javelin was introduced. The Cardin Javelin arrived midway through the '72 model year as an interior option package. The designer had submitted as many as 10 proposals to AMC, and the chosen selection was a black interior with a wild multi-hued stripe of silver, white, red and purple that grooved across the seats, touched the door panels and continued onto the headliner. "People should feel like they're sitting in a living room rather than a machine," the designer was quoted in ads introducing his eponymous Javelin. In a press release, AMC said, "Cardin takes an ultra-modern abstract approach to his interior design." The Cardin interior option package was available with specific exterior colors: Snow White, Stardust Silver, Trans Am Red, and Wild Plum. For the '73 model year, Diamond Blue was a new exterior color option. The Pierre Cardin option was only $85 and was offered exclusively on the Javelin SST, although it's reported that the Pierre Cardin option also appeared on a handful of Javelin AMX models. For 1973, you could officially get a Pierre Cardin Javelin AMX. A total of 4,152 were built over the two model years. AMC's next fashion special was the Matador coupe, but the automaker tapped Oleg Cassini for that gig. Pierre Cardin was not finished with the automobile business, though. In 1975, he put his touch on the Sbarro Stash, an obscure supercar based on the SV1, with the result displayed at the Paris auto show. The designer next customized a run of early-'80s Cadillac Eldorados, and this time the treatment extended beyond the interior. A redesigned front end featured hidden headlights behind a full-width horizontal-car grille but unfortunately made the already-considerable front overhang even longer; the rear treatment was similarly modified with the factory vertical taillights replaced with horizontal units.