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Cadillac XT5 V-Series Won’t Happen, But Middle-Ground Vsport Model Likely

During the 2016 Cadillac CTS-V media drive this past week, Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen was on hand to answer a few questions. Automotive News decided to pick de Nysschen’s brain to see if the brand he’s in charge of plans on getting into the finer niches of the luxury game.

We say that because other automakers, especially BMW, have expanded their performance marques to their crossovers, and have gone to create high-performance crossovers and SUVs. But to put it bluntly, de Nysschen reportedly says there are absolutely no plans to expand the V-Series into Cadillac’s crossover and SUV offerings.

“If you want to get our engineers to instantly experience a massive rolling of the eyes, you should ask them about a V-Series crossover,” de Nysschen said to the news outlet.

To combat vehicles like the Audi SQ5, de Nysschen hinted towards new Vsport models. The Vsport line was introduced as a step below a true V-Series model. Like how the CTS Vsport with its 420 hp twin-turbo LF3 V6 engine and athletic chassis setup is plenty of car for most people, but still plays second-fiddle to the newly launched, 640 hp 2016 Cadillac CTS-V.

Ergo, Vsport models will have performance attributes greater than regular Cadillac vehicles, but will not reach heights found in the V-Series. And a Cadillac XT5 Vsport sounds like a great idea after the crossover launches in early 2016.

A Vsport Escalade is even a twinkle in de Nysschen’s eye, as he stated, “I could well imagine a high-performance, sporty, satisfying version of an Escalade,” he said, “that’s quite different than what we have today.”

Former GM Authority staff writer.

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Comments

  1. Completely agree with plan not to do full V versions of SUV’s. It will dilute the V brand.

    A V-Sport version is enough to satisfy the sport enthusiast who will unlikely want to track day their SUV.

    The ATS-V and CTS-V are the models designed for serious track duty.

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  2. I agree, I just wish they would release vsport models along with regular versions and release the V model a year after. The release schedule makes little sense. Vsports on every model and make the CT6, CTS, ATS, and sub ATS car the only ones with the real V moniker

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  3. An Escalade that’s had some of its excess weight removed, like third row seat, tow hooks and roof rack, been lowered an inch or so and given an LF4 motor, would make a very interesting starting point for a V sport Escalade.

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  4. In my opinion high performance SUVs are kinda silly. 600 HP BMW. Mercedes and Porsche SUVs are interesting, but they’re not a very good SUVs and not a good sports car. So what’s the sense??

    My daily driver is a 2012 Cadillac SRX, which is good in bad weather and great for Home Depot runs. My other car is a 2011 Corvette Grand Sport, which more that satisfies my need for speed and handling. And my wife drives a 2014 CTS Luxury Sedan, which provides luxury cruising whenever I want it. I’ve got the best of all “automotive” worlds.

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  5. I totally agree , doing a V-series on almost evry Cadillac model cheapens the the series , its a bad move . Now a V-sport is another animal for the XT5 . Lexus has the F-sport ( all fluff and badges ) , but the Jeep Grand Cherokee has the Summit with a V_8 engine and a Hellcat coming in ’16 , and the SRT . Cadillac would do themselves a favor by competeing with the homeboys instead of always looking overseas . But do it with some real enhancemants instead of just styling cues like Lexus .

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  6. Good. Even if there were V-series crossovers, the XT5 in the upcoming generation can’t possibly happen. It’s drive layout dooms it to grocery-getter status.

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  7. So Johan said ‘I could fully imagine a satisfying version of the Escalade’??

    I’d feel so great if I’d laid out 90k and waited for delivery, and the Afrikaaner thinks the current variations of the Escalade are kinda ‘meh’…

    I wonder is he thinks a negative 7% July is meh?

    Or banner ads for an exclusive marque that promise ‘whopping deals’ is meh?

    Buick’s promising whopping deals, too.
    Same words, same website (GMAuthority). Nothing says ‘luxury’ like ‘whopping deals’.

    Sorry for the engineers, but I think the market is already rolling their eyes.

    In the meantime, discount greatly.

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  8. If not a full V give us sumthin! Currently there are ZERO options. No Vsport, no nuthin. Just saying there MIGHT be a sportier option at some point is not going to get me to pay 10’s of thousands of dollars now, so let’s have a little more ‘here it is’ and a little less ‘I could maybe see that someday’.

    Does anybody else feel like they’re taking crazy pills reading about de Nysschen?
    “a high-performance, sporty, satisfying version of an [Cadillac],” he said, “THAT’S QUITE DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE HAVE TODAY”.

    Fire this guy right now.

    And he’s afraid of boring the engineers? Geezus, he and anyone who agrees with him have seriously misjudged the market. If his precious engineers only want to design racecars they can go work in that field. The starter-luxury segment likes SUVs and they like having the option and prestige of having a slightly sportier vehicle, even if they NEVER use it, which most people don’t.

    And I really couldn’t disagree more with the school of thought that people who drive SUVs should be punished and left out of the performance fun. There’s just no reason to frankly be punitive. Can we think outside the box a little? Or do we have to follow the unwritten rule that if we want performance we MUST get a coupe or sedan, or even more asinine, a sporty 2nd car for the weekend so we can punish ourselves throughout the week with a boring commuter as motivation to drive it. That’s nonsense.

    But not giving us the option, cranking out milquetoast one-option-fits-all cars, in my opinion is not the key to success for Cadillac. And it sure as hell isn’t what revitalized their brand several years ago and transitioned them from the 1st choice of grandmas everywhere into a sporty youthful boundary pusher. The competition is gunna eat their lunch if they fall back to those old habits.

    And that’s not even to get into the watered down styling shift away from the striking angular design that was half of the 1-2 punch of looks and performance that shot life back into the company.

    I’m COMPLETELY disappointed by the XT5 and everything it represents. Gimme the better looking SRX with a sports-luxury package instead of this crap.

    Reply

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