General Motors’ luxury brand Cadillac is in the midst of (another) massive transformation, but its halo model will be an ultra-exclusive, ultra-luxury fastback… not a V8-powered supercar.
CNBC reports that GM president Mark Reuss has ruled out a Cadillac version of the mid-engine Chevrolet C8 Corvette, arguing it didn’t fit into the brand’s new strategy and would have to share the majority of its components with the Chevy supercar.
While he reportedly said there was potential room for more specialty, Cadillac-specific vehicles outside the ultra-luxury Celestiq, he ruled out the company’s premium brand offering a version of the Corvette – something it has done before with the XLR.
“It was developed as a secondary car to the Corvette, on purpose. We would never do that,” said Mr Reuss, appearing to refer to the defunct XLR.
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Cadillac XLR
That’s despite Cadillac offering vehicles on shared GM platforms like the Escalade large SUV, which is related to the Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban and GMC Yukon/Yukon XL but which features unique interior and exterior styling.
Other Cadillac models are based on platforms shared with Buick, Chevrolet and GMC vehicles, apart from the CT4 and CT5 which use a version of the Alpha platform that underpinned the defunct Chevrolet Camaro.
Cadillac’s first and only Corvette-based model, the XLR, entered production in 2003 and preceded the C6 Corvette by a year. While it shared the Corvette’s platform, it had completely different interior and exterior styling.
Not only that, but the XLR ditched the Chevy’s pushrod V8s for the double overhead cam 4.6-litre Northstar V8 developed for the Cadillac brand.
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Cadillac XLR-V
This actually produced considerably less power and torque than even the base C6 Corvette’s 6.0-litre ‘LS2’ V8, befitting the XLR’s role as more of a refined Mercedes-Benz SL rival than an out-and-out sports car.
The XLR was also offered only with an automatic transmission and a folding hardtop roof.
For 2006, Cadillac introduced the XLR-V powered by a supercharged 4.4-litre version of the Northstar V8, which produced slightly more power and torque than the base C6 Corvette.
The XLR-V became the first Cadillac to wear a base price north of US$100,000, but the XLR experiment ended in 2009 when Cadillac swung the axe on the luxury roadster. It had reportedly failed to meet sales expectations, and GM was about to go through bankruptcy proceedings.
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Cadillac Celestiq
Cadillac has since offered other models priced above the US$100,000 mark, culminating in the Celestiq which starts at around US$340,000 (~A$531,000).
However, while it has offered hot twin-turbo V6 and supercharged V8-powered models, these have predominantly been sedans.
It even developed a twin-turbo double overhead-cam V8 called the Blackwing, producing up to 410kW of power and 868Nm of torque. This ended up being produced for only a couple of model years and was seen in just one model, the CT6, US production of which was halted to make room for electric vehicle (EV) production.
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Cadillac Sollei concept
But while Cadillac has previously stated a goal of going electric-only by 2030 and is yet to officially scrap this goal as some brands have done, it continues to offer high-performance sports sedans like the CT5-V Blackwing and will join the Formula 1 grid in 2026.
Mr Reuss’ suggestion of other Cadillac-exclusive, specialty models potentially joining the Celestiq could point to a production future for last year’s Sollei concept, a flagship electric convertible based on the Celestiq.
Should it build this, it would be the brand’s first convertible since the XLR was axed in 2009.
