Behold, Cadillac’s answer to zee Germans.
The ATS is essentially a baby CTS that is meant to give the typical compact German performance sedans a run for their money. Specifically, Cadillac wants to eat away at BMW 3-series sales. Cadillac actually bought and stripped a 3-series to the gills in the hopes of finding out what makes the popular Bavarian sedan the benchmark. Even though BMW is just introduced the new 3-series which is supposed to be better than the one that Cadillac modeled the ATS after, but let’s just forget about that for the moment.
The ATS, like the previous generation 3-series, offers 50/50 weight balance, is the same height and offers a five link independent rear suspension. However the ATS is about 160 pounds heavier than the 3-series.
The baby Caddy will get three engine choices: a 2.5 litre four making 200 horsepower and 188 pound feet of torque, a 2.0 litre turbo four making 270 horsepower and 260 pound feet of torque and a 3.6 litre V6 which makes 318 horses and 267 pound feet of torque. Given the choice of the three, I’d say the mid level turbo is the most interesting. Regardless all engines are fitted with a proper six speed manual or an optional six speed automatic.
There’s nothing terribly shocking in terms of it’s design, it looks pretty much the way everyone expected it to look since the design of most Caddy sedans are pretty much identical. With that said, it’s a fairly agreeable design, with an eye catching interior. It’s clear from the pictures alone that GM has done it’s homework in this regard as well.
So far no performance or fuel efficiency numbers have been released. Check out a few more pics after the jump. Do you think the ATS will lure away 3-series owners?
[General Motors]
