The Cadillac CT6 was meant to signal a new era for Cadillac – a flagship sedan with a marvelous platform and the ability to best the world’s driving dynamics. Today, it’s on its way to the slaughterhouse.
A Cadillac spokesperson confirmed with Road and Track on Monday that the Cadillac CT6 will exit production next year, likely sometime in mid-2019. The GM Detroit-Hamtramck plant, one of the four facilities GM will shut down in the United States, builds the CT6 alongside the Chevrolet Volt, Impala, and Buick LaCrosse.
But, the CT6 won’t die before workers begin production of V8-powered models. Yes, Cadillac will still launch the 2019 CT6 with a detuned 4.2-liter “Blackwing” twin-turbo V8 engine and a thumping CT6-V with 550 horsepower. That will likely make the CT6-V and other V8-powered CT6 sedans real rarities in the future. Potentially, Cadillac may only build the car with the powertrain configuration for six months.
As for the 4.2-liter Blackwing V8 engine, it will stick around. The spokesperson confirmed the engine will still be hand-built at the GM Bowling Green, Kentucky, facility that churns out the Chevrolet Corvette. It’s unclear what vehicles the engine will go into next, but when the mill debuted, it was supposed to be exclusive to Cadillac. The next-gen Escalade and CT5-V seem to be likely contenders.
The CT6’s confirmed death puts all rumors about the full-size sedan moving to the GM Lansing Grand River plant to rest. Earlier this year, GM invested $175 million into the plant for Cadillac’s next sedans, the CT5 and CT4. For a short time, it was thought that production of the CT6 could also move to the plant. Now, it appears Cadillac will make do with just two sedans in its lineup, until the arrival of the rumored flagship.
What the end of CT6 production means for the stellar Omega platform, the result of a very costly investment, is also unclear. The CT6 was the only vehicle to utilize the architecture thus far. Its future is murky, however. GM’s future Vehicle Sets Strategy will consolidate architectures in the near future, and an official GM statement said that 75 percent of the automaker’s future vehicles will come from just five platforms by early next decade.
Oh, CT6, we hardly knew ye. And just as the sedan began to have some much-needed mojo, it was gone.
[toggle title=”2019 Cadillac CT6 Photos”] [nggallery id=715] [nggallery id=954] [/toggle]At a time of year when luxury car ATP usually rises.
Sales decreased 5.6 percent to 16,670 units during the first ten months of 2024.
Specifically critical minerals supply chain development.
Scheduled for a Spring 2025 launch.
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Damn it's like Cadillac is telling people not to buy it
If they didn't kill it, were you planning to buy one?
I was planning on buying a used one when I retired in 7 years. Not anymore!
So no pretty much. 7 years might was well be 1000 years........ but thanks for nothing.
I guarantee you, you will be able to buy one used in 7 years. If you can buy a McLaren MP4-12c on the used market, you'll be able to buy a used CT6-V.
I have a 2016 and my lease is up in February...I getting a new one and may even go for the V...if the number is right I'll buy it when that lease is over and hopefully it will be a collectible!
It’s way easier to build pickups. If GM was committed to cats they would stop trying to pawn off midsized cars as full sized. The only thing that is close to full size is the Dodge Challenger and a Silverado. Sad deal, but they are getting what they sowed.
Yes, as soon as I could afford one that was just above the base spec. 67000 isn't a price tag to sneeze at.
So stupid decision OMG ((((
Best looking sedan on the market, first full size cadillac in decades. And gm just kill it with all investments made into new rwd platform. What now ? Rebadged chevy's again?
Dear GM,
Please put any version of that V8 in the CT5 with AWD. I will 100% buy one. Also, I don't care if it's hand-assembled or not. If it puts out crazy power and can drive on snow, I'll be first in line.
That V8 is literally the only proprietary tech that Caddy has now that turns my head from another Audi/BMW/MB.
I would much rather hear the whine of a supercharger over the whine of 2 turbos.
Sure. The CTS-V has a supercharger.
The CT6 will still be assembled and sold in China, which is really why it exists to begin with. Wealthy Chinese still like the big luxury sedans to be driven around in.
I'm guessing the new blackwing engine will find it's way into future Corvettes?
CT6 is a typical GM story. It is in many ways an advanced product that is groundbreaking but it was launched with a glaring omission; no V-8 and only parts bin four and six cylinder engines. Were I in the market for a large luxury sedan, I would've went to BMW or Mercedes until GM could fill the product's void under the hood. I want the whole package, not a half-baked attempt with a 2.0 Turbo from a Chevrolet.
For 2019, GM announces exactly what the car needed to make it a real contender. Finally, an exclusive twin turbo 4.2 L V-8. It's the perfect engine which should transform the car, result in glowing reviews from the automotive press and most importantly increased sales. I likely would buy a CT6 with the Blackwing V8. Increased sales would mean the cars will be on the roads and in 'the right garages' as Johan liked to speak of. That increased presence will elevate Cadillac's image and prestige and help drive sales across the line . CT6 would finally begin to pay dividends for the money GM spent to develop it.
Sadly, before the V-8 CT6 can even launch, GM has announced its death. No matter how good it might turn out to be, who will want to own a car they know will soon exit production. The thing is, GM will say there is no market for it and, to some extent, that's true but the real problem is that there is no market and there will never be a market for underdeveloped, noncompetitive cars like the stuff GM keeps creating.
Despite all that CT6 was launched with great promise. The product represented (finally) a return to a large purpose-built RWD Cadillac on a platform that could spawn additional products that Cadillac's lineup had been sorely lacking. As we saw with concepts like Escala and Elmiraj, the Omega platform gave Cadillac the opportunity to join the Tier 1 luxury car ranks. The new V-8 was another step in the process of returning Cadillac to it's former glory. For the first time in a long time, there was a ray of light and hope that 'The Standard of the World' might again be a slogan Cadillac could wear with pride.
All of this is why it's demise now is so bad. It isn't just the death of a model, it is the death of hope - the loss of any hope that Cadillac will ever be a great carmaker again. Mary Barra says this is needed to focus on the future and then cites electric cars and driverless cars as that future for which GM must prepare. What is glaringly obvious is that she is canceling GM's only driverless car, the CT6, and the company's groundbreaking hybrid-electric Volt. She is literally contradicting herself and proving once again how utterly clueless and lost GM is.
This morning driving in to work, I saw numerous new Mercedes and BMW cars. I was paying more attention than normal and there was an especially sleek new BMW 7 Series and a flashy new Mercedes SL among them. Not everyone is buying SUVs and particularly in the luxury market where people have cars like others have shoes meaning different ones for different occasions. If the Germans can have vast options spanning from SUVs to sports cars, convertibles, and sedans, I just don't get why GM had to cancel its sole large luxury sedan and the one product that seemed to signal there was hope for Cadillac.
GM does have a knack for killing promising vehicles before they can mature. It's as if finance underfunds them to ensure they fail. There's a long history: Pontiac Fiero, Pontiac Solstice, Cadillac ELR, Cadillac CT6, GM minivans, etc.
I'll keep my '09 CTS-V garaged for now. Who knows what other shoes will drop, but I have no plans to replace it with a pickup truck or SUV.
Add the Cadillac Allante' to your list of half-baked products that died at the moment the shortcomings were addressed. In 1993, Cadillac finally got the Northstar under the hood of its two-seat roadster addressing a critical flaw and nearly doubling the horsepower the car had at launch. They then promptly killed it. Northstar-equipped Allantes were only built for an abbreviated final model year. They said there was no 'business case' for it. Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz is still selling the SL roadster to affluent buyers across America and the globe 25 years later. In fact, Mercedes sells two roadsters in the United States; the SL and SLC. Further they sell an S-Class, E-Class, and C-Class cabriolet which can each seat four for top down motoring.
Good point!
They even made another go at it with the XLR, which was dinged for feeling like an overpriced Corvette. So instead of making improvements, they killed it.
and don't get me wrong, I have no beef with the escalade, Tahoe, suburban and others, but replacing passenger cars was a bad move and it will have a total massive stain on gm forever.
GM does not understand luxury and what it takes to build a luxury brand. GM's shortsightedness and long-term goals for Cadillac does not mix when it comes to them.
Yes lets spend billions developing a new V8 engine for an architecture that we also spent billions on and then spent even more to MCE for 2019 and then all of a sudden drop the entire program. Barra the bean counter is at her brilliance again!
GM seems to have a problem discerning their good eggs from bad eggs. Don't know if it's because they put out so many bad eggs or there's a big disconnect between product planners and corporate. Other companies seem more adept at choosing promising products, placing their bets and standing behind them.
I guess if GM played poker, they wouldn't know which cards to hold and would constantly fold.
There are rumors of a new sedan/coupe to replace the CT6. So the question is will it happen or not. Its really hard to tell. I'm thinking the 2019 Detroit auto show might be showing a lot of new product. Mainly Electric vehicles.
Why does Cadillac HAVE TWO full size luxury sedans in the first place? XTS and CT6??
The XTS was offered as a big FWD Cadillac sedan to replace the Deville/DTS and STS. The plan was that once the an Omega based car, the CT6 launched, the XTS was finished. What actually happened was.....the XTS sold well enough, even in China, that instead of eliminating it, it was given a re-fresh.
The fact that GM/Cadillac has basically no presence in the European market, where driver oriented RWD sedans are still relevant, puts them at an enormous disadvantage vs the Germans.
The XTS was also kept around for coach builders (stretch limo's, hearse and livery service)
Now that's a dying business. Lol
I knew Cadillac is done. Johan tried his best to bring Cadillac to true Tier One Luxury Status and GM wanted no part of it.
Unbelievable.
Such drastic measures! Couldn't GM phase into new corporate plan? This new plan better work.