The Cadillac CTS is a mid-size luxury sports sedan manufactured by the Cadillac marque of General Motors, designed by GM concept artist Scott Wassell. It was introduced in early to mid or late 2002 as the replacement for the unpopularCadillac Catera. The release of the CTS is credited with reinvigorating the Cadillac brand. The 2010 CTS was named to the Car and Driver 10 best list for a third consecutive year with the headline "Maybe the best American car ever made". The car's exterior was designed by Wayne Cherry and Kip Wasenko, and marked the production debut of the stealth aircraft-inspired "Art and Science" design language, which was first seen on the Evoq concept car. During the 1990s, Cadillac had attempted to capture a younger demographic with cars such as the Catera and Allanté, but the company did not achieve success until the introduction of the CTS. As part of its marketing campaign, the sedan was featured prominently in an action film, and enjoyed a warm reception from the motoring press, who have granted the car numerous awards and accolades over its lifetime.
On April 2, 2006, in a 60 Minutes interview with Bob Lutz, part of a prototype Cadillac was revealed to audiences. The car featured interior and exterior design influences from the 2003 Cadillac Sixteen concept car.Second generation (2008–present)
Production 2008–present Assembly Lansing, Michigan, United States
Kaliningrad, Kaliningrad Oblast,RussiaBody style(s) 4-door sedan
5-door station wagon (2009)Layout Front engine, rear-wheel drive /four-wheel drive Platform GM Sigma II Engine(s) 3.0 L LF1 V6 (270 hp)
3.6 L LLT V6 (304 hp)
6.2 L S/C LSA V8 (556 hp)Transmission(s) 6-speed 6L50 automatic
6-speed Aisin AY-6 manual
6-speed Tremec TR-6060 manualWheelbase 113.4 in (2,880 mm) Length 191.6 in (4,867 mm) (sedan)
191.3 in (4,859 mm) (wagon)
188.5 in (4,788 mm) (coupe)Width 72.5 in (1,841 mm) (sedan)
72.6 in (1,844 mm) (wagon)
74.1 in (1,882 mm) (coupe)Height 58 in (1,473 mm) (sedan)
59.1 in (1,501 mm) (wagon)
55.9 in (1,420 mm) (coupe)
GM revealed the all-new 2008 CTS at the North American International Auto Show in January 2007. The base model featured a 3.6 L variable valve timing V6 with 258 hp (192 kW) and 252 lb·ft (342 N·m) of torque. A second engine, a new 3.6 L direct-injection V6 VVT engine with 304 hp (227 kW) and 274 foot-pounds force (371 N·m) of torque was also offered. The new car came with a six-speed manual transmission as standard equipment, with GM's six-speed Hydra-matic 6L50automatic transmission available as an option on all variants. On-demand all-wheel drive was offered with both engines when equipped with an automatic transmission. Suspension, braking, and steering improvements from the previous generation CTS-V were designed into the new standard CTS.
The second generation was wider and longer than the original, measuring 191.6 inches (4866 mm) long, 72.5 inches (1841 mm) wide and 58 inches (1472 mm) in height. Wheelbase remained unchanged at 113.4 inches (2880 mm), but with a wider front/rear track of 61.8 / 62.0 inches (1575 / 1585 mm), donated by the larger STS. Other changes included a revamped exterior, with a new, larger grille, slimmer headlights and taillights, side air extractor vents located forward of the front doors, and new nine-spoke 18-inch wheels, surrounding larger high-performance brake calipers and rotors. Available features on the second-gen CTS included a Bose 5.1 surround sound system, GM's Stabilitrak ESC system, a tire pressure monitoring system, a navigation system with real-time traffic and weather data, an integrated 40 GB hard drive for music storage, swiveling headlights, and remote starting.
In 2008, the CTS was selected as the car that would re-launch the Cadillac brand in Australia and New Zealand.
