For those worried that Cadillac's new "Dare Greatly" campaign was about to turn into a "More Songs About Buildings and Food" version of Infiniti's legendarily muffed plants-and-trees brand launch, the Wreath-Free Crest allayed those fears with a glance at the upcoming CT6 during last night's Oscar spot. And now Cad honcho Johan de Nysschen has announced that the CT6 will one day pack a twin-turbocharged V8.
Unlike many a division chief, Johan is both a fancy dude and oddly populist. He's more than willing to mix it up with journos and analysts on Facebook, often sounding exasperated with those who'd hold Cadillac to some status quo that hasn't actually existed for decades. He's also often quite willing to discuss future product, as we found at last year's L.A. auto show, when he outlined a time frame for a diesel rollout, as well as suggesting that a 911/R8/AMG GT competitor would arrive in the early 2020s.
So the fact that he agreed to do an "Ask Me Anything" with the readers of Jalopnik isn't exactly a shock. And though it's a bit of a bombshell, it's not entirely surprising that he announced that the CT6 would one day sport a twin-turbo V8. His words? "The lightweight body construction allows us to push the envelope when it comes to powertrain in a way we know that the rest of the industry will follow. This includes a very wide mix of engines, starting with a 2.0-liter turbo, up to, eventually, a high-performance advanced V-8 turbo."
The last significantly new engine that bowed in a Cadillac was the Northstar V-8. But in recent years, Cads have soldiered forth with variants of GM corporate engines: a detuned ZR1 motor here, a double-huffed 3.6 V-6 over there, and a turbo four over yonder. It is the way of the volume-luxe world—unless you're Mercedes-Benz or BMW. Even then, BMW's newer modular engines get chopped up and shoved into Minis. Historical dollars would be on a smaller-displacement small-block with a couple of snails strapped to it. The last time a GM V-8 rolled out of a dealership with a pair of turbochargers was during the middle of the C4 era, when Reeves Callaway was moving L98-powered twin-turbo Corvettes through Chevy stores.
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Alternately, we've suggested in the past that a smaller-displacement DOHC V-8 would see duty in a mid-engined Corvette, something in the neighborhood of five liters, although Mercedes-Benz and Audi are both currently working with boosted 4.0s. With today's news, it sounds as if the next Corvette's powerplant—whatever it may be—could bow first in the CT6, presumably in a V variant.
There was, however, a far more important tidbit revealed during the discussion. When asked by a reader whether his beloved ducks may return to the Cadillac emblem, de Nysschen replied, "No, you can't have them back. I play with them each night in my bath." If you're a man who's long been searching for the bathroom that zigs—somebody who might consider himself a veritable Ponce de Leon of the WC—your ship just came in. But do us a favor and don't interrupt Johan during tonight's bathtime. He's been generous enough today.
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/nSHy27
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