Is now a good time to launch a luxury sedan in the UK? The economic backdrop right now is far from ideal and presents a headwind that might make even a highly established player nervous. But we’re talking about Cadillac, not BMW, Audi or Mercedes-Benz.
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This is a relative newcomer brand that is up against some very formidable competition. And Cadillac as a brand – in Britain (and Europe) – is still a brand looking for a bridgehead and to establish a positive brand image in its target segments.
But the CTS luxury sedan has now arrived in right-hand drive format and Cadillac is anxious to press on, even though a diesel engine (a 2.9-litre turbocharged V6 outsourced to VM Motori) option is still a year away.
Cadillac’s sales growth will be spearheaded by new products and the Cadillac CTS takes Cadillac’s product offering up a notch into Mercedes-Benz E-class territory.
How many UK CTS sales are we looking at?
Cadillac’s UK head of sales Jonathan Nash acknowledges that the arrival of the diesel engine will be very significant to sales prospects.
“With just the 2.8 and 3.6 litre petrol engines available we think we are talking about 200-300 units in a full year, which means probably 70-80 this year,” he told just-auto.
“The UK market is, in this segment, around 65% diesel and 35% petrol so you might reasonably say that we should more than double that volume when we get the addition of the diesel engine later in 2009 [2010 model year],” Nash said.
“We are doing a bit of touch and feel and see how we go with this, but it could be a lot more than that,” he added.
Cadillac says the new 2009 CTS has an athletic form that reflects its combination of luxury and performance. Distinguishing details include side air extractors that recall a styling element from Cadillac’s 2003 ‘Sixteen’ concept car.
“The 2009 CTS takes Cadillac to the next level,” said John Manoogian, director, exterior design. “We added more ‘art’ to Cadillac’s Art & Science philosophy, with greater detail, sculpted shapes and more surface development.”
The new model is also longer, wider and higher than the previous CTS with a wider track.
The Cadillac CTS is available in the UK with a choice of two powertrains. The standard engine is a 2.8-litre V6 petrol unit with variable valve timing (VVT), which generates 211 ps at 6,800 rpm and 246 Nm of torque at 6,300 rpm. This power unit is an all-aluminium, 60-degree V6 with a DOHC per cylinder bank and four-valves-per-cylinder.
The 2009 CTS can also be ordered with a new 3.6-litre V6 petrol engine. Fitted with direct injection and VVT, this engine produces 311 ps at 6,400 rpm and 374 Nm of torque at 5,200 rpm.
The six-speed automatic transmission offers drivers a choice of fully-automatic operation or Driver Shift Control sequential manual gear shifting (with paddle shift on the 3.6 model).
Next year’s V6 diesel will have a displacement of 2.9 litres, an estimated output of 250 ps and will produce around 550 Nm of torque from 2000 rpm.
The all-new 2009 Cadillac CTS luxury saloon arrives in UK showrooms from 1 September 2008. Prices will start at £26,995 for the 211 ps 2.8 V6 model and at £32,995 for the 311 ps 3.6 V6 model. The car is available in one trim only – a policy that Cadillac says keeps the value proposition simple.
Dave Leggett
See also: THE EDITOR’S INTERVIEW: Jonathan Nash, MD Saab GB and GM UK’s Caddy man
