gavriil

by Paul A. Eisenstein

It creaks and groans…and roars.

Since its introduction at Detroit’s North American International Auto Show, last January, Cadillac’s sweet Sixteen ultra-luxury concept sedan has been the star of the auto show circuit. But the incredible ultra-luxury sedan is more than just a static display, as TCC discovered when an invitation recently arrived, offering us the chance to take the massive machine for a short spin through New York.

As you might expect, we jumped at the opportunity, fighting Monday morning traffic into the city in order to reach our designated rendezvous. Lavish and sprawling Wave Hill is one of those enormous old estates that once dotted the Hudson River shoreline, serving for a while as a home for not-so-rough-riding Teddy Roosevelt.

Set in the southern tip of the Bronx, you’d have a hard time imagining you were in the city. And considering the blinding sunlight, it was equally difficult to imagine that it had snowed barely a week before. But there was no denying that the 20-foot sedan sitting in front of the ex-President’s old home was the same car we’d first set eyes on at the Detroit Opera House last Winter.

There are plenty of concept vehicles that look great on a stand but lose much of their luster when they’re actually taken off their pedestals and put on the road. Not Sixteen. If anything, the car seems even more well-balanced, and distinguished. It seemed absolutely at home in front of the sprawling colonial manse.

After spending a bit of time on photography, we grabbed the digital key fob and jumped behind the wheel, accompanied by Brian Smith, the 30-year-old designer who was given the plum assignment of penning the ultimate Cadillac.

“You don’t get many opportunities like this in your career,” he conceded, with a mix of pride and resignation. Turning 31 in a few weeks, he can only hope a project anywhere near as grand will ever come along again.

The idea for a quarter-million dollar Cadillac has been kicking around for some time, and only became more urgent as Caddy’s European rivals announced plans of their own for the ultra-luxury market. The project got the green light in October 2001, and was quickly adopted by General Motors’ then-new “car czar,” Bob Lutz. Indeed, it was the former Chrysler President who decided to go for a V-16, rather than the V-12 powertrain originally under consideration.

That required the Advanced Design team to not only come up with a body, but an entirely new engine, as well. But thanks to recent development in math-based design and engineering, they were able to pull the project into shape in barely 15 months. Actually, they just met their deadline. Some of the final hand assembly tasks were completed mere hours before Sixteen’s formal debut at the Detroit Opera House. And in the three months since, quite a bit more work has been quietly underway to get the big sedan ready to roll.

To bring Sixteen to life, you simply press the “Start” button on the dashboard. You’re immediately rewarded with a whooshing noise, almost like firing up a jet, then a deep rumble pours out from under the hood as all 16 cylinders kick into action.

With an awe-inspiring 13.6 liters of displacement, Sixteen is rated for 1000 horsepower and roughly the same amount of torque. On paper, notes Smith, that should launch the sedan from 0-60 in barely 3.6 seconds.

It’s still pretty early in the development phase to say if the engine can meet its target, and we weren’t about to test the limits on this particular New York morning. Something about having responsibility for a one-of-a-kind, million-dollar prototype tends to promote a sense of caution. But even while driving like we had an egg under our accelerator foot, the car shot out of the box as if it were an Olympic sprinter.

That immediately elicited a serious of creaks, groans and crackles from various corners. It was hard to tell whether the driveline was complaining, or the suspension. With barely two inches of travel, the prototype wasn’t exactly designed for maneuvering around NY City potholes.

The fact that it could maneuver at all was impressive enough. And to help handle the narrow streets and tight corners around Wave Hill, the development team had wisely installed a four-wheel-steering system. Even so, they admitted the Sixteen prototype’s turning circle was a lumbering 42 feet.

The instrument panel is as much a work of art as the car’s exterior, with elegant aluminum bezels surrounding cut crystal lenses magnifying digital gauges.

The high-tech touches are consciously subtle. Smith and his fellow designers didn’t want to turn Sixteen into a clone of DaimlerChrysler’s Maybach, which seemingly incorporates every possible bit of gadgetry, from multiple video screens to an electroluminescent sunroof that can turn opaque – or light up – at the touch of a button.

Opulent, unabashedly, but the emphasis with Sixteen is on elegance, and even in its rough form, you can’t escape a feeling of grandeur as you tool around, staring across the car’s impossibly long hood.

The sedan is part of a four-phase process aimed at reviving a brand that once could rightly claim itself “the standard of the world.” Smith and his colleagues certainly had plenty to work with, but they wisely chose not to spend all their time looking at Cadillac past. “We wanted the car to drip heritage, not reek retro,” he says with a smile. That’s one reason he chose to use vertical lighting but to stay away from fins.

Since its Detroit debut, Sixteen has generated an overwhelmingly positive response. Lutz’s desk is covered with letters from potential buyers – as well as a few unsolicited down-payments.

For the moment, though, GM is still unsure what to do next. Coming up with an effective business case isn’t easy. Nor is it clear that the time is right to launch a vehicle like this one, which would have to come to market at nearly four times the price of today’s most expensive Cadillac.

But it’s pretty obvious that Caddy’s general manager, Mark LaNeve, wouldn’t mind having the car in his line-up. “It’s in our history, those one-off, highly-stylized, almost unattainable vehicles.”

With the brand showing unexpected signs of life, senior management is starting to listen, though the current economic climate is making it difficult to commit the necessary capital.

So while we can hope to one day test drive a production version of this over-the-top sedan, for now we’re happy to accept a few minutes behind the wheel of a concept few others will ever get to see off its pedestal.

thatguy

ha, 13.6L and only 1000 hp???
imagine if honda made an engine that was 5L, IT WOULD BE A BEAST

Zoot

GM really likes to get its money worth out of their concepts. They always advertise concpets (see the 16 ads?) and take them on tour. Sure it's great to dream, but wouldn't you rather see how directly the concept effects the new cars? This may seem like a stupid arguement, but how many other automakers go to the extent GM does for a concept?

cusdaddy

Actually, many of GM's concepts do make it production, and if not directly to production, their styling is mirrored in less wild styles.

The Aztek (unfortunately) was almost the same as a concept car. The Sixteen is GM's way of showing it can be a world class competitor. The engine is 2 of their LS1 replacement engines merged together (due to power the C6).

Almost all of GM's concept cars make it into production in some way or another. They make $$ off of it, they get great press and it allows them to test potential future styles. I think it's a win-win

nandowong

honda s2000 2.0 L and 240 hp. so 13.6 is almost seven times as much.... so tha would be a measley 1680 hp

gavriil

Unfortunately for the S2000 fans, it does not work like that in "reality". If you think that Honda could have achieved the same piston speed of a 843 cc piston as it can of a 500 cc piston, you are mistaken. And the above is an oversimplification as there a ton of other factors that will make your assumption above incorrect.

nandowong

I know i was just commenting on this

I was just agreeing with thatguy, a 5.0 honda engine would be a beast and i still think honda could cough up a 1000 hp with a much lower displacement and even make it fuel efficient j/k

foe

Too bad honda couldnt make a transmission to handle 260 hp

nandowong

gavriil

Cadillac confirms it will build ultraluxury sedan later this decade - - By K.C. CRAIN | Automotive News


"Robert Lutz, vice chairman for product development, told AutoWeek that a range of models would start around $80,000 and top out at $300,000."

Source: Autoweek

chungkopi

good for cadillac

kansaiwalker1

08:27 Jan. 26, 2004)


Cadillac confirms it will build ultraluxury sedan later this decade


By K.C. CRAIN | Automotive News



DETROIT - Cadillac has confirmed it will build an ultraluxury sedan, but don't expect to see the car until late in the decade.

"Cadillac is very interested in the elite premium, 7-series, S-class segment," said Mark LaNeve, Cadillac's marketing general manager, at the Detroit auto show.

"We need an elite premium (model in the) V-8, V-12 ultraluxury category."

At the Automotive News World Congress two weeks ago, LaNeve said: "The question is not if we should do ultralux products. It's how, what and when - so stay tuned."

Robert Lutz, vice chairman for product development, told AutoWeek that a range of models would start around $80,000 and top out at $300,000. AutoWeek is a sister publication to Automotive News.

The XLR, which has a retractable hardtop, is the brand's most expensive car. It starts at $76,200, including the destination charge.

LaNeve said the Cadillac Sixteen, a concept shown at the 2003 Detroit auto show, indicates "thematically where we might go. We're having lots of discussions about the concept and what it might look like; what platform it might use."

Asked about the time schedule for the ultraluxury sedan, Cadillac spokesman Jeff Kuhlman said no plan or architecture has been approved.

General Motors manufactures the STS sedan, CTS sedan and SRX crossover on the Sigma platform. The XLR is built on the Chevrolet Corvette platform.

Crazy Bimmer

http://www.acura-cl.com/forums/showt...hreadid=100696

farberstyle

IBTLizznock

ItalianStallion

very cool.

but, 80-120k isnt ultraluxury, 150-300 is when i hear that word. but yeah this sounds like a good idea if they want to become a world standard, maybe an american mb.

mantis23

cant blame caddy for tryin'

heyitsme

I'm gald they are, improves americas image.

farberstyle

it was a repost before it was made a sticky....

gavriil

I dont like deleting people's messages.

heyitsme

http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/d..._detail?skip=0


Cadillac ULS

Under the contraction ULS (Ultra Luxury Sedan) Cadillac plans a luxury sedan with V12-Motor for the coronation/culmination of the program. It is the again developed North-Star-Aluminium-V12, in to 100. Anniversary of the mark presented sports car study Cien its debut gave: with four cam shafts, direkteinspritzung, lying above, cylinder disconnection, 750 HP and 610 Nm torque. Completely as much power might not become it in the series, but enough, in order to be able to offer the V12-Boliden from Stuttgart and Munich Paroli. Among them it in addition, two V8-Ausfuehrungen with 340 to scarce will give over 400 HP. With prices starting from 80,000 dollar would be the Cadillac ULS also after US yardsticks a real luxury car. Clearly over five meters long luxury liners like the STS with rear-wheel drive and optional all-wheel drive one offers.

titan

It sounds great. But I have a question. Where will this car fall in the lineup. Is this the DTS replacement (which makes perfect sense). That what it sounds like, which would be a great flagship and a true competitor to the S600 and 760iL. With prices starting at $80K for the V12 version, it'd be a great value when compared to the others... and where would that put the V8 version on the price point? I'm guessing between $65 and $70. This is great... Caddy's commited to doing this turn around 100%. I was floored when I first heard about the XLR (a hardtop convertible) for $70K! Now they're making the V12 a reality... I love it.

gavriil

GM drops plans to compete with Maybach, Rolls-Royce, but still considering six-figure Cadillac - - RICK KRANZ | Automotive News - - Source: Autoweek


PARIS - General Motors Vice Chairman Robert Lutz believes there's a sweet spot for a limited-edition Cadillac sedan priced a few notches above $100,000.

But a car to compete in the same league as the Maybach and Rolls-Royce Phantom - which sell for $300,000-plus - is out of the question.

"We still have the dream of the ultraluxury flagship at the top of the Cadillac lineup; something that would do 1,000 units a year," said Lutz, who was interviewed last month at the Paris auto show.

But "when we look at the success of Maybach and Rolls-Royce, I think we would probably be less enthusiastic about a $300,000 car than we were perhaps two years ago."

Maybach and Rolls-Royce have failed to reach global sales expectations.

No program

Lutz said there is no approved product program to develop a six-figure flagship for Cadillac. In terms of pricing, he said, "I think we could make a nice car and a good business proposition at roughly $110,000, $120,000."

Lutz said the right size of car for Cadillac would be "a little bigger than the STS with a different engine configuration." It would not be "long-wheelbase, Maybach-sized."

GM is not the only company thinking of developing a car that would be priced above $100,000.

In July, Yukitoshi Funo, CEO of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc., said that a $100,000 car is high on Lexus' wish list. But he said that a $300,000 vehicle was out of the question.

While GM favors a sedan, Toyota executives have not reached a consensus on whether such a vehicle should be a sedan or sports car. It also could be a gasoline-electric hybrid-powered vehicle.

Show star

One star of the 2003 Detroit auto show was the Cadillac Sixteen concept, a sleek, rear-drive four-door with a long hood. The Sixteen was powered by a 16-cylinder engine.

GM executives said that low-volume production might be considered.

A sticker price that might rival that of the Maybach 57 - $307,500 - or the Rolls-Royce Phantom - $324,000 - was speculated. But the demand for those exotic sedans has failed to reach projections.

For example, Rolls-Royce wants to sell 1,000 Phantom sedans worldwide this year. Through July, just 358 had been sold.

DaimlerChrysler plans to build 800 Maybachs this year in Sindelfingen, Germany. That is just over half the annual production rate forecast when the project was launched in the late 1990s.

But one engineering element that Cadillac may need to compete in the $100,000-plus category is missing. Maybach, Rolls-Royce, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and a few other automakers have V-12 engines.

While GM has said that it is developing a V-12, it has given no timetable or told of vehicle applications.

1SICKLEX

How about learning how to build a 20-30k car people actually like?

Crazy Bimmer

lots of people like the CTS

1SICKLEX

THats 30-50k

1SICKLEX

I guess I meant GM, not Caddy.

Crazy Bimmer

Most lux brands dont have a 20-30k models...

Crazy Bimmer

oh then ok, makes sense

titan

^True. But I think Caddy competing in the Sub-$30K market is iffy right now, though they may reconsider a car under the CTS to compete with the TSX,Bimmer1/2 Series, and Audi A3. If they do, that's a few years off though.

titan

This is a great idea for Cadillac. If they can create a new flagship postioned above the STS to compete with the S-Class and 7 Series, they can probably stuff it with a V12 and enough amenitites to justify a $100K price tag.

1SICKLEX

Funny but I don't think ANY of us have switched over to a CTS or any Caddy? Clearly, Infiniti took some buyers of Honda/Toyota with their G35s... But has anyone bought a Caddy?

I still see hella old people in em. At least they "feel" young. :killer: Hell, the dealers here are slaping Chrome, Vouge whitewall tires and the vinyl roof on top......lol


Didn't we have an article here on that?

goldmemberer

HAHAHA For a second or two, I thought they wuz makin a 0.5 series... starting at $300 and optional doors, as a part of their downscaling.

cusdaddy

It was more about the 300C... And the CTS is selling quite well. Yes, there are a number of old buyers, but many people are looking at it now who would never have considered a Cadillac a few years ago.

kumar6

i saw that car at the autoshow... they are actually going to produce that??

1SICKLEX

I actually see hella young people in the 300C. Like 20-40.

kumar6

cadillac pimpin

titan

Well, I see hella people driving CTSs from 20-40yr, so Caddy's stealing customers from someone. Personally, it's lines are to edgy for me, and I don't like the interior design. Still, it was the first car that had the art and science thing going on, not including the Escalade (an SUV), so they had kinks to work out. I wouldn't consider the CTS over a G35,TL,A4, etc. and I'm sure you wouldn't either. Even though the car broke ground for Caddy's new direction, I think it's a weak link no in comparison to the rest of the lineup now (what a difference a few years make). I saw a STS at the dealership yesterday and my mouth dropped. That is a TIGHT ASS car. I was like, whoa. I still like the M better, especially the interior, but still, kudos to Caddy. And I like the SRX's design also. With the next Gen CTS, if the shrink they exterior a bit while keeping the spacious interior and softening the exterior lines, it'll be a winner in my eyes.

Collective27

Where is the deville suposed to fit into there plans...i know its suposed to be redesigned soon, but what is it going to compete with???....with the new STS out, i just dont see what it would compete against/be priced at...the sts is now maxed out at like 60k...i always thought the deville was suposed to be higher up then the STS...so what will that be maxed out at, like 70k???

heyitsme

I think it will stay the same since it sells so well, be kinda stupid to move it against the 7 series just to say "we have a car to go against the 7 series."

titan

Agreed. But, I always thought the plan was to move the Deville successor against the 7. Not a redesign of the current car, but a new car that was RWD with a V12 option. I assumed they were going to call it the DTS, following their current trend. Now they're saying the Deville will stay the same and that another car will be placed in the flagship postion. So I don't know what the hell's going on...