Rich Bartlett, assistant chief engineer of Cadillac’s new twin turbo engines, stands next to one on a stand at an event in Detroit on March 20, 2015. He says as torque is lightened from the driver's pedal a two per cent fuel gain can be realized when two cylinders of the six go offline for balanced performance.Tom Maloney/The Globe and Mail
Aiming to restore Cadillac's prestige in the luxury sedan market, General Motors is introducing a new generation of V-6 engines, topped by a twin turbo designed to deliver best-in-class power, boost fuel economy and dampen cabin noise.
The 3.0-litre, 400-horsepower V-6 will be available in the new 2016 CT6 flagship model. A turbocharged, 2.0-litre four-cylinder and new 3.6-litre, naturally aspirated V-6 engine will also be offered.
GM is investing $12-billion (U.S.) to distinguish Cadillac from Japanese and German competitors. "Expanding and elevating the Cadillac portfolio globally" is the goal, Dave Leone, executive chief engineer for Cadillac, told writers at a technical preview in Detroit. "And to win the hearts and minds of our customers, it is going to require a variety of powertrains."
Eight new Cadillac models are to be delivered by 2020 and, of those, five will be new to segments. The 3.6-litre V-6 will be installed in both the mid-size CTS and compact ATS sedans. Cadillac said the engine will have a slight horsepower advantage over Infiniti's 330-horsepower, 3.7-litre V-6.
A new eight-speed transmission is being paired with the 3.6-litre V-6, while the twin turbo gets the Hydra-Matic paddle-shift already at work in the 2015 Escalade and Chevrolet Corvette.
Several engineers gave presentations last Friday at a renovated, exposed-brick, high-tech-equipped theatre, a fitting environment for both a city and an auto maker in the midst of rebounds. One after another, they supported presentations with charts showing superior data from laboratory tests conducted against BMW and Audi competitors. With 400 foot-pounds of torque, Cadillac pledged the twin turbo will be 27 per cent more powerful than BMW 740L's 3.0-litre twin-turbo V-6, and 29 per cent greater than Audi A7's 3.0-litre supercharged V-6.
To conserve fuel, the twin turbo is designed to temporarily deactivate the No. 2 and No. 5 cylinders when the driver doesn't need them. Leone said he sat in the car when it ran on four cylinders at approximately 110 km/h on the Ohio Turnpike. The stop/start function, a feature provided on rivals for years, will engage when the car is stopped at a red light.
Turbo-charged engines are replacing the V-8, as auto makers strive to meet U.S. government-mandated fuel guidelines. However, Cadillac anticipates demand from loyalists, and they "will see a V-8 in top-of-the-line products like our V-series," Leone said.
Previously, Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen indicated the V-8 will also be a twin turbo. "We are carefully planning the life cycle of CT6, and this must include some high-power derivatives as well," he wrote during a Q&A with readers hosted by jalopnik.com. "The lightweight body structure allows us to achieve formidable performance even with a twin-turbo V-6. Imagine how this car would perform with a twin-turbo V-8. Have patience, grasshopper."
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