http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=37286&vf=7
News
Aussie V12 for new Cadillac
Greg Kable, The Sydney Morning Herald, 23/03/07
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Two Commodore engines will power a new super-luxury model, writes GREG KABLE.
Two Commodore V6 engines will be joined end-to-end to create a V12 engine, which will power a new Cadillac flagship. 2003 Cadillac Sixteen concept pictured.
Just when you thought the world’s largest maker had got the message on climate change, General Motors is developing a V12 engine – in Australia.
Two Commodore V6 engines will be joined end-to-end to create the monster engine, which will power a new Cadillac flagship. The new super Cadillac is expected to be based on the same underpinnings as the Australian-designed Holden Statesman but it will have a Cadillac body.
Given that GM is poised to reintroduce the Cadillac brand to Australia – and that design work on the V12 is being handled by Holden – the car could be on Australian roads as early as 2010.
Bob Lutz, GM’s product boss, says development work is ‘‘well under way’’ in Australia.
The opulent V12 flagship draws its inspiration from the Cadillac Sixteen concept car, shown at the Detroit motor show in 2003. Perhaps GM has got the message on fuel consumption – the original concept was a 13.6-litre V16 developing 750kWof power.
The plush new sedan, described by GM as an all-American rival for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Lexus LS 460, will provide buyers with a home grown alternative to some of the world’s most distinguished luxury cars at a price that is likely to undercut the competition dramatically.
The distinctively styled rear-drive model will be positioned above the DTS, which is Cadillac’s current flagship luxury sedan, with a list of high-end features never seen before on a Cadillac, including the latest in crash avoidance and safety technology.
It will be a key component in Lutz’s push to provide Cadillac with a more international flavour and drive sales in new markets outside the United States.
For years Lutz has wanted a top-end grand tourer in his stable. In 2003 he told journalists he wanted GM to develop an ultra-luxury sedan, a ‘‘Cadillac Cunningham’’ that would come in three models, a V8, a high performance V8 and a V12.
Interviewed in Britain last week at the opening of a Hummer dealership, Lutz said Australian engineers are already working on the new V12.
The V12 mates two of the company’s 60-degree 3.6-litre V6s on a common crankshaft. Sources say the V12 will have features such as direct injection, cylinder deactivation and a state-of-the-art automatic gearbox to ensure competitive levels of power and economy.
Cylinder de-activation, which shuts down half of the cylinders during cruising and reactivates them under acceleration, is already available on GM models in the US but is not yet available on the Commodore.
Sources speculate the starting point for the new engine’s power and torque outputs will be double those of the current V6. That would give the engine a 7.2-litre displacement, about 390 kW of power and 680 Nm of torque.
Experimental engines created by Holden have already undergone testing in prototype cars at the company’s Lang Lang test centre outside Melbourne.
The prototypes are running on GM’s reardrive Zeta architecture, developed in Australia for the Commodore and the coming PontiacG8. The chassis has a longer engine bay to fit the V12 and wider front and rear tracks.
GM has not confirmed whether it will base the upmarket Cadillac on the Zeta platform but, given the need to spread the cost of reardrive development over as many models as possible, such a move is logical.
Sources say the Chevrolet C6 Corvette, which matches the performance of German supercars at a bargain price, provides the template for the new super-Cadillac.
Lutz hopes that argument will carry the day when he meets GM’s bean counters for a budget to put the flagship Cadillac into production.
News
Aussie V12 for new Cadillac
Greg Kable, The Sydney Morning Herald, 23/03/07
*
*
Two Commodore engines will power a new super-luxury model, writes GREG KABLE.
Two Commodore V6 engines will be joined end-to-end to create a V12 engine, which will power a new Cadillac flagship. 2003 Cadillac Sixteen concept pictured.
Just when you thought the world’s largest maker had got the message on climate change, General Motors is developing a V12 engine – in Australia.
Two Commodore V6 engines will be joined end-to-end to create the monster engine, which will power a new Cadillac flagship. The new super Cadillac is expected to be based on the same underpinnings as the Australian-designed Holden Statesman but it will have a Cadillac body.
Given that GM is poised to reintroduce the Cadillac brand to Australia – and that design work on the V12 is being handled by Holden – the car could be on Australian roads as early as 2010.
Bob Lutz, GM’s product boss, says development work is ‘‘well under way’’ in Australia.
The opulent V12 flagship draws its inspiration from the Cadillac Sixteen concept car, shown at the Detroit motor show in 2003. Perhaps GM has got the message on fuel consumption – the original concept was a 13.6-litre V16 developing 750kWof power.
The plush new sedan, described by GM as an all-American rival for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Lexus LS 460, will provide buyers with a home grown alternative to some of the world’s most distinguished luxury cars at a price that is likely to undercut the competition dramatically.
The distinctively styled rear-drive model will be positioned above the DTS, which is Cadillac’s current flagship luxury sedan, with a list of high-end features never seen before on a Cadillac, including the latest in crash avoidance and safety technology.
It will be a key component in Lutz’s push to provide Cadillac with a more international flavour and drive sales in new markets outside the United States.
For years Lutz has wanted a top-end grand tourer in his stable. In 2003 he told journalists he wanted GM to develop an ultra-luxury sedan, a ‘‘Cadillac Cunningham’’ that would come in three models, a V8, a high performance V8 and a V12.
Interviewed in Britain last week at the opening of a Hummer dealership, Lutz said Australian engineers are already working on the new V12.
The V12 mates two of the company’s 60-degree 3.6-litre V6s on a common crankshaft. Sources say the V12 will have features such as direct injection, cylinder deactivation and a state-of-the-art automatic gearbox to ensure competitive levels of power and economy.
Cylinder de-activation, which shuts down half of the cylinders during cruising and reactivates them under acceleration, is already available on GM models in the US but is not yet available on the Commodore.
Sources speculate the starting point for the new engine’s power and torque outputs will be double those of the current V6. That would give the engine a 7.2-litre displacement, about 390 kW of power and 680 Nm of torque.
Experimental engines created by Holden have already undergone testing in prototype cars at the company’s Lang Lang test centre outside Melbourne.
The prototypes are running on GM’s reardrive Zeta architecture, developed in Australia for the Commodore and the coming PontiacG8. The chassis has a longer engine bay to fit the V12 and wider front and rear tracks.
GM has not confirmed whether it will base the upmarket Cadillac on the Zeta platform but, given the need to spread the cost of reardrive development over as many models as possible, such a move is logical.
Sources say the Chevrolet C6 Corvette, which matches the performance of German supercars at a bargain price, provides the template for the new super-Cadillac.
Lutz hopes that argument will carry the day when he meets GM’s bean counters for a budget to put the flagship Cadillac into production.
