mobile-menu-icon
GM Authority

The Story Of How The Cadillac CT4 Almost Didn’t Exist

Serving as the successor to the popular Cadillac ATS luxury sedan, the Cadillac CT4 has had a rough going in terms of sales figures, with less than 5,000 units sold over the course of the inaugural 2020 calendar year. Thankfully, the CT4 continues to post stronger sales numbers every year, so the luxury sedan’s prospects appear to be moving in the right direction. However, did you know that the CT4 was never intended to exist in the first place?

Side profile of Cadillac CT4.

Initially, General Motors wanted to offer two Cadillac sedans for the North American market, namely the Cadillac CT5 and the Cadillac CT6. However, as the Detroit-based automaker was planning on shutting down the GM Detroit-Hamtramck plant and the GM Lordstown plant, it became evident that the CT6 – as well as a few other vehicles – would get an early discontinuation in North America. This would leave the Cadillac CT5 as the sole luxury sedan offering for the luxury marque, so what was General Motors to do?

The automaker thus decided to create the CT4 for two reasons. First, the luxury C-segment was the fastest-growing sedan segment at the time, and second, there was a way to develop such a vehicle that wouldn’t require a huge investment.

To create the CT4, The General decided to repurpose the outgoing Cadillac ATS, keeping the original two-pronged Cadillac sedan approach for North America. Revisions included new front and rear ends, or inserts such as headlamps, taillamps, bumpers and grille. These changes are not all that expensive to perform, compared to all-new body stampings. Of course, the revisions go much deeper than fresh body work.

While GM engineers kept the basic ATS structure, a new electrical architecture was integrated, replacing Global A with Global B and adding Super Cruise, resulting in the Alpha 2 platform. Some of the powertrain components were carried over, such as the twin-turbocharged 3.6L V6 LF4 gasoline engine in the CT4-V Blackwing, lifted from the Cadillac ATS-V, and the GM M5N eight-speed automatic transmission, mated to the turbocharged 2.0L I4 LSY engine lifted from the CT5 and refreshed CT6. The 2.0L I4 LSY and turbocharged 2.7L I4 L3B engines respectively replaced the ATS’ 2.0L I4 LTG and 3.6L V6 LGX engines.

In regard to the interior, General Motors then took elements from the CT5 sedan and slapped them into this new CT4 creation, and voilà! The Cadillac CT4 as we know it today was born. We should note here that the ATS was already a small vehicle in the D-segment sedan category and by the middle at its life cycle, it was one of the smallest models in its segment as its rivals were redesigned and grew in size. Nevertheless, GM developed a C-segment vehicle from the D-segment ATS sedan.

So, in a way, the CT6’s discontinuation made the CT4 possible.

Moving forward, it’s widely expected that the two luxury sedans will received a mid-cycle refresh for the upcoming 2025 model year, or potentially even as a 2024.5 model. With this, and improving sales figures to boot, it’s likely that the CT4 and CT5 will continue to fill the Cadillac two-sedan-approach for the several years to come.

Be sure to subscribe to GM Authority for more Cadillac CT4 news, Cadillac news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.

[nggallery id=993] [nggallery id=1057] [nggallery id=1108]

As a typical Florida Man, Trey is a certified GM nutjob who's obsessed with anything and everything Corvette-related.

Subscribe to GM Authority

For around-the-clock GM news coverage

We'll send you one email per day with the latest GM news. It's totally free.

Comments

  1. Should have kept the CT6 and dumped the CT4. It is so small that it is a 2-person compact non-luxury car.

    Bring us the 2nd gen CT6 with the V6 and a Blackwing. Market the car and there will be sales. I own 2, a 2017 Premium and a 2020 Premium Luxury and I would consider trading my 2017 Premium even though it only has 40K miles.

    Reply
    1. They should have kept all three.

      Reply
      1. What Lurch said!

        Reply
        1. I bought a 2.0T CT5 Luxury, and was really considering the CT4 due to its lower starting price, but in the end the standard 10 speed was the deal breaker for me. I wished the CT4 had the 10 speed as standard and I would have bought it over the CT5.

          Reply
  2. It’s been a year since I leased my CT4 and we’re still on our honeymoon. I love its overall design. The seats are the most comfortable and supportive of ANY car (mostly Cadillacs) I’ve ever owned. Aside from oil changes I haven’t needed to visit the service department for any reason.

    Reply
  3. While the CT4 BW is nice, and the TT6 is ok…, it certainly not a CT5 BW with that SCV8.
    I mean for $20,000 more, you could have a bespoke SC V8.
    And you may be saying here, you are paying $20,000 more for a SC V8?
    Well, if you look at GM’s turnkey performance engines on it’s engine site, you are looking at purchasing a engine for the same price.
    So yeah…, why have a V6, when you could have had a V8.

    Reply
  4. It’s amazing how much they deemphasized the ATS’s wedge shape without changing the greenhouse, but it’s too bad they couldn’t improve rear room in either sedan.

    Reply
  5. Cadillac should have the CT4, CT5, and CT6 in their lineup. The German Big three each have four sedans on offer while Cadillac only has two and both are on the lower segment ala (A3 and A4) segments.

    My personal opinions on the CT4 is that driving dynamics perhaps are best in Segment but overall design inside and out are subpar which is a shame. Especially the rear of the CT4, not sure what the designers were thinking.
    Also the interior is by far the cheapest looking and also utilizes the cheapest materials in the segment.
    The 2.0 is nowhere near the German 2.0T on offer when it comes to refinement.

    Cadillac was so close to having the CT4 being such a Home Run.
    Make the front and rear end more modern looking and fix the interior and it has the potential to be best in class.
    Not sure what GM can do about the 2.0T unles sthey redesign a new engine most likely.

    Reply
    1. I never been inside the CT4 but in comparison test, Motor Tend prefer the interior over the A Class and felt the interior was more solid and sturdy. The A-Class felt cheap according to them.

      Reply
      1. @Johnls_39
        I have driven both and disagree completely.
        Driving dynamics between the two were not close though…..CT4 is by miles more superior.

        Reply
  6. I have a 2020 CT4…and love it. It has been a fantastic car to own .

    Reply
  7. For people who want a small Cadillac that is comfortable enough and don’t need much cargo room and space, the CT4 is a way to go. Not sure there will be a successor in EV form but I would like to see it as a successor to the CT4 as long sales volume is up for the current model. The CT4 is a gorgeous looking car and I like looking at it everytime I’m in traffic. And it is a real luxury car rather some choose to disagree with my assessment of the car.

    But it seems that GM wanted to keep the CT6 all along and did not had a plant for extra space. Looks like they regret the previous CT6 had been discontinued for the decision for the planned CT6 successor on Prime BEV platform.

    Reply
  8. After reading the other comments, here’s what I think. Yes, they (Cadillac/GM) need more sedan models. Not only should Cadillac have the CT4/5/6, but they need one more and they need to give them actual names.

    As for the CT4 being too small? Not everyone wants or needs a huge vehicle. The fattening of America is getting so bad and why do so many think everything needs to be super-sized? I had a 2020 CT4 and other than the “name”, I loved it. I had the 2.0 and it was more than enough power. It would get fantastic MPG and it had plenty of room for a smaller car. If you want/need a larger one, go with CT5. But that’s where GM messed up. They absolutely do need a larger luxury car for those who do need or want it. Bring back the CT6 with a real name, market it, stock them at the dealer level and let them sell.

    Reply
  9. Why can’t we have a coupe. I don’t need or want a 4 door sedan. If the CT4 supposedly replaced the ATS why did they drop the 2 door from the lineup.

    Reply
    1. Totally agree, I don’t need four doors and wish the CT4 still had a coupe option.

      Reply
  10. My sister has a 2023 ct4 with less than 8k miles and is having issues with the A8 transmission (shutters badly until it warms up after a few miles). Drove 3 hours to a dealership in Memphis and was told it was an enclosed transmission case & they couldn’t help her. I thought gm had improved & corrected these 8 speed problems. Anyone else having these issues?

    Reply
    1. If it’s under warranty, they should replace her transmission.

      Reply
  11. If the ATS was a compact and the CT4 is a heavily facelifted ATS….that means the CT4 is a….

    COMPACT CAR!!

    CT5 replaced the CTS which was a MID-SIZE CAR!!

    We’re not Europe and never will be, so C and D-Segments are actually measurements here in the U.S.A. lol. I’ve been in both CT’s and both have small interiors and terrible interior efficiencies for their respective actual classes against competitors, whatever they both compete with. I like both and want to like the CT5, but just not there. I don’t see many of either around, especially the smaller one.

    Reply
    1. TOTALLY agree. The interior packaging on the CT4 and CT5 are horrific for the overall size of their respective chassis.

      Reply
  12. Please for the love of God offer the ct5v be with the non-supercharged v8. And lose the back seat and doors out of the 4v bw.

    Reply
  13. Trey I think you meant “ATS”. Typo I bet.

    “We should note here that the AT4 was already a small vehicle in the D-segment sedan category and by the middle at its life cycle, it was one of the smallest models in its segment as its rivals were redesigned and grew in size.”

    Reply

Leave a comment

Cancel