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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Be sure to follow our coverage of Cadillac CT4 news and Cadillac CT4-V news.
Join others in discussing the CT4 in our Cadillac CT4 forum.
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