General Motors today introduced an eight-speed automatic transmission mated with a six-cylinder twin-turbo engine as a top-level option for the redesigned Cadillac CTS sedan.
The new powertrain is the “highest-output V6 we’ve done in General Motors history,” said Richard Bartlett, assistant chief engineer for the engine.
The new CTS, which will be revealed next week at the New York Auto Show, will go on sale in the fall. The basic powertrain will be a 2-liter turbocharged engine, GM said today at an event at Detroit’s Max M. Fisher Music Center.
The twin-turbo, 3.6-liter V6 option will have high-pressure direct injection with dual, continuously variable camshafts.
The eight-speed transmission marks a step forward for GM, which had previously not offered an eight-speed Cadillac.
“Why did we pick an eight-speed? Clear market indications,” Bartlett said.
GM bragged that the engine is 17 kilograms lighter than the 4.4-liter V8 in BMW’s 5-series, one of the all-new CTS’ top competitors. The engine will get 420 horsepower.
Bartlett said GM had changed or upgraded more than 90% of the parts in the new engine.
The new CTS is expected to be more differentiated from the new ATS compact sedan, which has surged in recent months as CTS sales have declined. The new version of the CTS is one of GM’s most important product introductions this year.
“This powertrain will be a signature feature for the new CTS,” said Dave Leone, GM’s executive chief engineer, performance luxury cars.
Leone said the new engine option for the CTS would not replace the performance model CTS-V.
He declined to reveal fuel economy.
"It's not a guzzler, it'll get above mid-20s in fuel economy on the highway and city will be respectable, as well," Leone said. GM also plans to offer the twin-turbo V6 in the Cadillac XTS large sedan.
“All of the people who said xts needed a v8- well today you know why we did not do that. Twin Turbo v6 will make you smile,” GM North America President Mark Reuss tweeted.
Courtesy of Detroit Free Press
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