A Cadillac CT4-V prototype was recently spied on public roads with an array of sensors fitted to it, leading to speculation that the luxury marque is using the sedan to test its up-and-coming Ultra Cruise autonomous vehicle technology.
For those who may not be aware, Ultra Cruise is an evolution of Super Cruise, Cadillac’s semi-autonomous vehicle driver assistance feature. First introduced with the 2018 Cadillac CT6, Super Cruise allows drivers to remove their hands from the steering wheel during extended highway travel. As such, Ultra Cruise will advance the Super Cruise feature to include not only hands-free driving on compatible highways, but on compatible city streets as well.
Although Ultra Cruise will not be a fully-autonomous vehicle system, it will be a significant upgrade over the current Super Cruise system.
Cadillac’s new Ultra Cruise technology is expected to arrive around the 2022 calendar year. As such, it would make sense to see prototypes testing the tech on public roads.
As we can see here, this Cadillac CT4-V prototype is fitted with a variety of extra equipment. The top of the vehicle appears to have a multitude of cameras and sensors, while extra bulky equipment is mounted high on a roof rack. There also appears to be an extra camera mounted in the front grille just below the Cadillac badge.
Notably, there appears to be some body damage on the driver’s side front fender.
Interestingly, this Cadillac CT4-V prototype was spotted running alongside a Cadillac CT6, which also had its own collection of sensors fitted to it.
Earlier this year, Cadillac Society reported on a CT5 sedan that also appeared to be testing out the Ultra Cruise autonomous vehicle tech. Like the CT4-V pictured above, the CT5 prototype spotted earlier this year had a similar setup in terms of the equipment mounted to the roof.
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