Last week, we brought you the spy first photos of the Cadillac CT4 as the model was undergoing testing on public roads. We initially mistook the CT4 tester for being a CT5, but a detailed pixel-by-pixel analysis assured us that we were looking at the smaller of the two future Cadillac sedans. Today, our spy shooter caught up with an entire caravan of CT4 prototypes that consisted of three distinct models, giving us an extensively detailed look at the upcoming sedan.
Despite all three testers wearing decent amounts of camouflage, the various trim pieces enable us to conclude that they will likely follow Cadillac’s recently-introduced “Y trim strategy introduced by the 2019 Cadillac XT4. As such, we believe that the vehicles seen here represent the base CT4 Luxury model, followed by the more luxurious CT4 Premium Luxury, as well as the more athletic CT4 Sport.
Base Model (CT4 Luxury)
The first prototype appears to be the most tame model of the caravan. It features 17-inch wheels with a double five-spoke pattern wrapped in Continental ProContact All-Season Grand Touring tires. This prototype has the smallest wheels of the three models in the caravan, with a taller side profile. Out back, this model gets a rather simple dual exhaust treatment with trapezoidal tips integrated into the rear fascia.
These qualities lead us to conclude that this model represents the base equipment group called “Luxury” within Cadillac’s new trim hierarchy.
CT4 Premium Luxury
The second prototype rides on a set of elaborate multi-spoke 18-inch wheels that exude luxury rather than performance undertones. The wheels wear the same all-season ProContact Continental rubber as the previous model, suggesting that comfort is a higher priority than outright performance on this application. Out back, this model is wearing what appears to be the same trapezoidal dual-exhaust design as the aforementioned Luxury model.
These characteristics lead us to believe that this model represents the Premium Luxury trim level, which offers more features and content than the base trim level with a focus on greater luxury.
Sport Trim Level
The third prototype features 18-inch wheels with a sporty spoke pattern mounted on 235/40 R18 Continental SportContact 6 SSR tires, which is a high performance rubber. The SSR designation, meanwhile, denotes “Self Supporting Run-Flat” construction.
Out back, this prototype features a unique exhaust design with quad tips.
These attributes make us believe that this prototype represents the Sport trim level of the CT4.
The Cadillac Society Take
It would seem like the upcoming Cadillac CT4 will adopt the same trim level hierarchy as the XT4 crossover, which launches in China this month, in North America in the fall, and in the Middle East before the end of the year. The alignment of the trim levels structure between the CT4 and XT4 makes sense, as the vehicles’ names put them on the same level within the future Cadillac product range, although both models are unrelated from a mechanical standpoint. Notably, Cadillac refers to the CT4’s segment as “Lux Car 2” and to the XT4’s segment as “Lux SUV-2”.
We should also note that the CT4 is expected to derive a high-performance CT4-V variant, but that model will likely arrive 12-24 months after the launch of the “regular” CT4 – so we will have to wait a while before seeing prototypes of that beast.
News
Be sure to follow our coverage of Cadillac CT4 news and Cadillac CT4-V news.
Discussions
Join others in discussing the CT4 in our Cadillac CT4 forum.
Geoff
Sport trim, be mine!
What is the prediction for power-train options for the CT4? Will the CT4-V retain the LF4?
Alex Luft
Yeah, that Sport trim has my name written all over it!
I don’t think the LF3 or the LF4 will live on past the current generation of their current applications.
Here’s how I envision the engine lineup in the CT4:
– Standard: 2.0L Turbo (LSY) low output at 250 hp
– V-Sport: 2.0L Turbo (LSY) high output at 300 hp
– CT4-V: 3.0L Twin-Turbo (LGW) at 400 hp
The high-output LSY has not been announced, so it’s pure speculation on my part. However, the current LTG had both low- and high-output versions, so it’s not unprecedented.
What I’m really hoping for is that they use the new 10-speed instead of the 8-speed. The 8-speed has horrible shift logic in every aspect that is not acceleration (slowing, coasting), while the 10-speed is wonderful in every way.
ronny
Me gusto la publicación del ct4 y los niveles de equipamiento.
como soy fans de cadillacsociety quiero opinar al respecto varios casos
que me tienen pendiente ya que con la restructuracion de CADILLAC hay ciertas cosas que me tienen muy pensativo
las plataformas de SUV y CUV son plataformas de vehiculos para traccion delantera o awd pero las plataformas de cars son de traccion trasera motor longitudinal
toda esto es para saber exactamente porque no comparten los motores entre si
por ejemplo los motores de suv no son utilizados en cars y viceversa
para concluir quiero que hagan un reportaje de los posibles motores a utilizar en el NEW CT4 en sus versiones antes indicadas
saludos
Alex Luft
Ronny – gracias por su comentario.
Si, tienes la razon sobre la diferencia entre las plataformas de los carros y CUVs presentes de Cadillac:
– Afuera del XTS, los carros usan plataformas con traccion basica tracera y posicion de motor longitudinal
– Los modelos CUV se usan plataformas con traccion frontal con posicion de motor transverso
Pero independientemente de la plataforma, los motores pueden ser compartidos/usados entre diferentes plataformas si se pueden encajar en el espacio debajo del capote.
Por ejemplo, el 2.0L Turbo LSY que anunciaron para el XT4 tambien van a usar en el 2019 CT6 (y creo que tambien en los CT4 y CT5), aunque el XT4 usa una plataforma de traccion frontal/posicion transversa, que es diferente de las plataformas de CT6, CT5 y CT4.
Lo mismo aplica al motor 3.6L V6 LGX: se usan ahora en el ATS/CTS, CT6 y el XT5, aunque estos cuatro modelos usan tres plataformas muy diferentes.
Pero yo creo que todo esto es mas o menos tempral, porque el proyecto que va realizar la vision verdadera de la marca sera el proyecto VSS-R, que hara posible poner carros y CUVs en la misma plataforma con traccion trasera y posicion del motor longitudinal, asi uniendo la linea de Cadillac de manera mecanica.
Esto no era posible para esta generacion de CUVs como XT4, XT5, y el futuro XT6 porque las plataformas Alpha y Omega no eran creados para apoyar modelos de estilo CUV.
Publicaremos un reportaje sobre los posibles motors en el CT4 la semana que viene. Gracias por leernos.
Alex
PD: perdon por mi ortografia, que el español no es mi idioma nativa.
ronny
hola alex
gracias por tu respuesta
tienes toda la razon pero el tiempo va pasando y los cambios en cadilac son lentos
entonces avanzar hasta la platafoma VSS-R va a llegar cuando cambie todo y capaz vuelvan a estar de moda los sedanes
creo que cadillac tiene buenos vehiculos motores y plataformas
pero siempre llega tarde al mercado
de verdad hay que asesorar a cadillac esto no puede seguir asi
ejemplo BMW saca un serie 3 2018 a continuación pasa uno o dos años y se ven las fotos espias del modelo nuevo pero cadillac no a duras penas se ven fotos espias de XT6 y no se sabe nada
el xt4 fue presentado en marzo segun el anterior CEO de cadillac cada 6 meses lanzaria un nuevo modelo sacando cuentas en septiembre 2018 se deberia lanzar un nuevo modelo o una nueva version que en este caso seria el XT5 2020 pero nada.
no hay nada claro faltan dias para septiembre pero señores hay que motivar al consumidor
crear incertidumbre de un modelo nuevo pero tampoco
de verdad que si esto sigue asi no te veo un buen futuro a cadillac
Ralph L
No more CHMSL spoiler.
They’re working hard to minimize the wedge appearance, not easy with the slanted beltline of the ATS. I hope the Y differences are more than appearance items.
If they really want Prem Lux to emphasize comfort, they’ll offer it with 17″ wheels, 18 optional, or vice versa, and an available softer suspension, too. There are a lot of empty-nesters and older people who’d like a small, comfortable, prestigious sedan, but Cadillac stupidly abandoned them in pursuit of BMW. Now they buy Mercedes and Lexus.
People rag on the Cimarron, but it sold more than any of their current sedans in a smaller luxury market.
Alex Luft
Let’s not look at Cimarron sales as a worthwhile indicator of sales success.
The model was marketed using the old GM strategy, which emphasized production over profit. The approach resulted in unrealistic production/supply and exaggerated sales numbers that rarely lined up to real market economies.
At that time, it was cheaper to keep the line running, overproduce, and then move the cars at retail with huge discounts/incentives (sometimes totaling 30% of the model’s MSRP), then taking reactive measures and trimming production, as GM does now. So what they ended up with is huge production and sales figures and almost no profit, resulting in the 2009/2010 bankruptcy.
I would wage that from a profitability standpoint, the ATS alone has brought in more profit than the Cimarron, despite not being a rebadged Chevy.
As for the CT4: I would expect the Premium Luxury model to come standard with 17s, which will be upgradable to 18s as part of a package. The XT4 takes the same approach, offering standard 18s on the Luxury/base and Premium Luxury. The Premium Luxury model allows for an upgrade to the next wheel size (20s) and the Sport model comes with 20s standard.
Patrick
Firstly, I just want to say that this is my new favorite car site. Congrats, the original content (spy-pics) is awesome! Second, I don’t understand the reference to Opel in your comment, The Cimarron was a rebadge Chevy. Are you confusing it with the Catera, which was a rebadged Opel?
Alex Luft
Patrick,
That was a mis-thought on my part… I meant to say Chevy 🙂
PS: thank you so much for the kind words. We really appreciate you being a reader, and love bringing Cadillac Society to you and the world. Many more great things to come.
– Alex
Ralph L
My point is that the Cimarron didn’t try to be a 320i (the car that took BMW mainstream), yet it sold OK as a small, ersatz Cadillac. There was a market for a car like it, and there still is (see Lexus ES, which is down but not out), and it shouldn’t be that difficult to tap into it.
They should at least offer a Platinum version of each (and especially the XT4) with more interior colors, fancier seats, & better materials. Perhaps they will if sales improve, but it shouldn’t be delayed.
Like the Pontiac Fiero, the Cimarron became a pretty good car right before GM cancelled it. The rebadged Opel was the Catera, which was probably a bigger waste of effort & money. The Cimarron was rushed to market because the dealers were desperate to have a small car to sell when gas went over ONE DOLLAR!
I’d be surprised if the first generation of Alpha Cadillacs made much money, certainly not without the Camaro spreading development costs. I read that Sigma barely did (or was a loss) while selling many more cars.
With the exception of the CT5 greenhouse, most of the changes on these two are likely to be skin deep and relatively inexpensive, so these cars should be significantly more profitable, even in a lower price range, if they sell at a decent rate.
ronny
amigo el cimarron no fue mal vehiculo solo fue algo nuevo para la epoca y de baja calidad
hagamos un análisis y muchos fabricantes han realizado la misma metodología que hizo cadilac en su momento y gm por años
solo por nombrar un famoso compacto
audi a3
vw golf
seat leon
estos 3 famosos vehiculos comparten la misma plataforma global del grupo vw
entonces esto no es nuevo cimarron es un cavalier mexicano con cuero y diseño cadillac
en conclusión el problema no es agarrar un cavalier y hacerlo ver como cadillac.
lo que realmente se debio hacer un vehiculo de plataforma cavalier un diseño confort y elegancia que caracteriza a cadillac
Johnls_39
I use to own the ’84 Cimarron, my first car and Cadillac. It had dark blue exterior and dark blue interior seats. I liked the car but wasn’t in love with it.
The car was not refined and slow from 0-60. However, the body structure was solid and ride quality was compliant. I did have few problems out of it and kept that car for four years.
I’m not sure Cadillac’s plan for Platinum but the Platinum is treated as a trim and nothing special compared to V Series and V Sport. The Platinum has more higher quality interiors with different colors (only two) with more optional equipment from lessor trim standard on it with different rims and grill.
For Sigma models, if GM put incentives on the hood, that reason alone might be the reason why they lost money on it in the first place.
Ralph L
My first new car was an 84 Turbo Sunbird, a big change from a used 74 Fleetwood. Stupidly, I ordered a manual and went through 2 clutches in 4 years. It would fly (also out of your hands) once you got to 3000 rpm. The A/C compressor moan and belt squeal were my major dislikes, and I went to a Bonneville in 88 for its greater size and refinement–and automatic.
The original 1.8 in ’82 was a dog, but the 2.0 was OK in town for its time (almost got a Cavalier). Later Cimarrons had a V6, which should have been fun.
My current DTS Platinum has the firmer MRC suspension and responsive gearing and tuning of the discontinued Performance model, but sometimes I wish it didn’t.
The CT5 &/or CT6 Platinum level, if not the Premium, should offer close to 12 colors of leather seats and door panels, like Cadillac once did for the whole interior of their standard! cars (plus the standard 2 cloth choices in similar colors). They even had an additional, better grade option for Fleetwoods. Ultraseude seat panels and more color accents would also be nice.
The CT4 & XT4 could just offer more colors and skip the Platinum. I admit to a prejudice against black-dominated interiors, so I’d like that to change more than anything, as an XT4 or 5 could be my next car.
Ralph L
Because we’re now seeing multiple versions of the CT4 and the ATS sedan is exiting first, could that mean the 4 will come out before the CT5, or has there been something like an official announcement about the order? The 5 has structural changes from the CTS (the C pillar), so that may be why it was seen earlier.
Alex Luft
Good question.
Based on information shared by those who are close to the projects, the CT5 will come before the CT4.
They’re thinking of the 5 as the D segment entry, which is the bulk of the market, so the priority is on that.
Ralph L
It will be tough to sell CTS’s when the CT5 is about the same size (and new and improved) but allegedly cheaper. The 2019 CT6 makes the 2018 look frumpy and dated to me.
Momolos
Please GM stop stuffing the 3.6 HF V6 in Cadillac engine bays…Cadillac should be above that engine. Thank You
Brian R
~500hp TTV8 for CT4-V (detuned from CT6 V-sport)
What will set this apart from the competition? It will be available with a manual
Alex Luft
I would be very surprised if you saw the 4.2L Blackwing in the CT4 at all…