Cadillac CTS Coupe Gets Second Generation

General Motors' plans regarding the new Cadillac hierarchy have changed yet again. When we last left you on this issue, Cadillac was working on switching the CTS to the new Alpha rear-drive platform, which will underpin the next Chevrolet Camaro, with less aluminum in its chassis and suspension, and the Cadillac 3 Series-fighter, codenamed ATS. The thinking was that the ATS better fits within the size category that can still find some coupe sales, and that with a more formal roofline, the ATS coupe can accommodate a convertible version without tearing up rear quarter-panels and trunk. The next CTS was to be sedan-only.

Since its launch, the current Sigma-based CTS coupe has become a success in rebuilding Cadillac's image for bold, groundbreaking design as much as showroom sales.

So Cadillac is said to be designing a new CTS coupe, even as the car gets larger on the flexible Alpha platform. Word from Detroit is that Cadillac has some stunning design proposals for a new CTS coupe. The car's design could be advanced enough to serve as a halo Cadillac until the automaker can finish developing a larger flagship-plus, a low-volume model with a six-digit price. The Alpha Camaro makes the Alpha CTS coupe viable, because they can share the same door apertures for frameless windows. They may share door panels, although the Camaro will have a shorter wheelbase than the CTS coupe, and the ATS will be shorter yet than the Camaro.

With all kinds of new product being stuffed through GM's pipeline, the Alpha-based CTS and Camaro are slipping. The ATS comes first, possibly early in the model year as a 2014. The CTS is next, as a 141/2 or early-model-year 2015, and there's a good deal of calendar space between the CTS and the Alpha Camaro.

Chevrolet has time to get the most out of the current Zeta-based car, with the convertible having just launched. The ZL1 with the CTS-v's LSA V-8 launches later this year as a '12 model, and Chevy has promised a new variant, including special trim models, every six months in order to keep ahead of the Ford Mustang in sales.

text: motortrend