Spied: 2014 Cadillac ATS-V Gets Caught Wearing Plenty Of Camo
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The fine folks at Car & Driver have caught and photographed a development prototype of the 2014 Cadillac ATS-V — the high-performance variant of Caddy’s sport-luxury compact sedan. Like its bigger CTS-V brother, the ATS-V will sport performance-focused suspension, drivetrain, and styling, all in an effort to dethrone the BMW M3, Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG, and Audi RS4/5 as the kings of the compact performance-luxury hill. And if the CTS-V taught us anything, it’s that The General can definitely hold its own against German rivals.
Looking at the photos, the testing unit has a low front spoiler and a huge central intake complemented by secondary intakes/fog-light housings. It also seems that the unit caught here has wider front and rear fenders than the non-V ATS available today, allowing the fitting of wider tires that should help in providing more grip, especially in the rear.
Speaking of the back, the exhaust system on the tester unit clearly sports four outlets — a first for a V-model Cadillac sedan. With the exception of the XLR-V, which had a quad-exhaust system thanks to its Corvette roots, all CTS-V units to date have had a dual-exhaust setup. To note, BMW’s M cars have utilized quad-exhaust systems for nearly a decade.
As with the non-V ATS, the Alpha-based vehicle will have a very balanced chassis and driving experience. Expect the ATS-V to be powered by GM’s new twin-turbocharged 3.6 liter V6 engine (LF3?) making somewhere in the vicinity of 400 horsepower, with The General having tested both the boosted six and an eight-cylinder small block in the car. It ultimately decided to use the smaller boosted unit to lie at the heart of the vehicle driving the rear wheels. For reference, the naturally-aspirated 3.6 liter V6 (LFX) pushes 320 horses in the ATS.
The ATS-V will make its debut in 2013 (probably at the LA Auto Show in November) and go on sale in the first several months of 2014 with a starting price of around $60,000. Anyone want to go halfsies?
Head on over to C&D for the full gallery.
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Looks good, cadillac is launching a “blitzkrieg” on bmw, the m3 is going down
I dont mind the TT V6 over the V8. In fact I was slightly pro twin turbo mill. But what I’d like to see:
~7spd a la C7
~Traction management settings again, a la C7
~425hp, and based on what Trifecta has done in terms of tuning the ATS 2.0 (they pushed it to 325hp, so more than the 3.6L, and 300lb-ft! But I’ll talk about that at the end of this comment)
~like 16 way adjustable seats, im talking full bolster adjustable. ya I know it adds weight, but also will be super glue for your ass
~a C/F roof, hood, and trunk lid would be sweet and bring C of G down.
~then the usual V goodies, light wheels, gripper tires, big brembos, alcantara, etc.
Now for anyone not familiar with the ATS Trifecta tune. They tune the regal, cobalt, etc, too. Naturally aspirated and turbo engines, the turbos just obviously see the biggest gains. So if you have a Regal GS or Verano Turbo, you can get a fantastic power bump and pretty cheap.
But what is great, is that the tune isn’t always “on”. On the ATS, while driving in regular mode it is stock tune, but switch the car, using factory methods, to ‘Sport’ mode it uses the tune.
D3, the guys known for tuning Caddies, are working on their own variant of the Trifecta tune and will offer an optimized package with their other performance parts. I bet D3 will have a good priced package bumping the 2.0T to 350hp at the push of a button, or keep it more subdued for casual driving.
In my eyes, why get the more expensive and heavier 3.6. The 2.0 has so much room to play, and 350HP is a fun number for that car.
Now get this, with the AWD ATS, they dropped a 4.8 second 0-60mph! Sign me up.
lol I never got back to the point I started making about the 425hp and Trifecta tune..
If the 3.6TT turns out 425hp from factory, tunes will come along, for just a couple hundred dollars, that could crank it up to 500+HP i bet. And if they do the tune similar to the 2.0T, you will be able to turn it from tune to factory settings effortlessly.