Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Sedan, Cadillac, GM
It's the eve of the Detroit Auto Show, and Cadillac officially kicked things off tonight by unveiling its 2013 ATS sedan at Detroit's College for Creative Studies. Why CCS? Many of the college's graduates go on to work in areas of automotive design, and as Ed Welburn, General Motors' Vice President of Global Design, tols us, over 170 CCS graduates currently work within the larger GM design team, 20 of which directly worked on the ATS project. After getting our first impressions of the ATS in the flesh, we must indeed applaud those designers.
The ATS rides on an all-new rear-wheel-drive platform, and the end result is car that's about eight inches shorter in length than the larger CTS sedan. Cadillac's Art & Science design language has been updated for the smaller sedan, with angular lines and flat surfaces found throughout the four-door's styling. Sure, Cadillac is quite proud of the way the ATS looks, but what's most important about this car is its performance. After all, the ATS will go head-to-head with the likes of the BMW 3 Series and Audi A4, so on the road, it has to be good.
The ATS is around 100 pounds lighter than a comparable Audi A4, while packing a more powerful engine lineup.
A key factor to the ATS' development was lightness, and GM's North American President, Mark Reuss, stated that the new sedan will be "the most mass-efficient car in the segment." Weighing in at less than 3,400 pounds, the ATS is around 100 pounds lighter than a comparable Audi A4, while packing a more powerful engine lineup. The base engine is a 2.5-liter naturally aspirated inline-four, putting out 200 horsepower and 188 pound-feet of torque, which should be good for over 30 miles per gallon on the highway. The real points of interest are the new turbocharged 2.0-liter four and 3.6-liter V6. The up-level turbo four should be good for around 270 horsepower, and the larger direct-injected V6 will send 318 hp to the ground. Transmission choices include a six-speed manual or automatic gearbox, and both rear- and all-wheel drive will be available.
The ATS will get a diesel engine in its first life-cycle.
During the presentation, Reuss also confirmed that the ATS will get a diesel engine in its first life-cycle, though specific details are unavailable as of this writing. We know that GM is already working on a small diesel mill for the Cruze sedan, so the new oil-burning ATS could use a version of this engine, if not the same exact one.
As for how the ATS will perform on the road, we'll have to wait until we get our first stint behind the wheel later this year, but things do indeed look promising. In addition to a 50/50 front/rear weight distribution, the ATS will use GM's Magnetic Ride Control, and will have "the best steering I've ever tested," as Reuss stated. Vice President of Cadillac Marketing, Don Butler, says the ATS' key development themes were to make it "nimble, quick, [and] fun."
It certainly sounds promising, and if all this goodness comes to live out on the pavement, we only have one thing to say: Bring on the V.
Continue reading 2013 Cadillac ATS debuts in Detroit, diesel engine confirmed
2013 Cadillac ATS debuts in Detroit, diesel engine confirmed originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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