Coupe Caddy likely

The big Caddy is due for release in Australia within months and now there's the possibility of a two-door Coupe stablemate to join it on the showroom floor.

Right-hand-drive production of the CTS saloon has started. It is making its world debut at the British Motor Show next week and will go on sale in Britain in September. The big American should be in Australian showrooms in October.

But Cadillac also has unveiled a Coupe version, below, of that car, officially listed as a concept at this stage, but one that management of the U. S. iconic car brand says “is a strong indication of Cadillac's future design language”.

Given that the Coupe is based on the production sedan, sharing its wheelbase, underpinnings and components such as engines and dashboard, it would help contain the cost of tooling and production for such a car and so make it more feasible.

“The dramatic design of the saloon begged the question of what it would look like in the unbridled form of a Coupe,” says Cadillac boss Jim Taylor.

The Coupe is 50mm lower and 50mm shorter than the CTS saloon. It even shares the same windscreen, but it is laid at a steeper angle. It's a classic hard-top style with no B-pillar, has slim-profile exterior mirror and roof-mounted antenna for radio and navigation signals.

The concept car has 20in front wheels and 21in rear wheels behind which are massive brakes with six-piston front calipers and four-piston rear units.

The Coupe is a 2+2, with special Recaro seats.

It has a premium Bose sound system with a 40GB hard drive. The navigation system, like that on the CTS saloon, has a screen that rises from the centre of the hand-finished instrument panel. It has been designed to accept the range of Cadillac CTS engines, including the 3.6-litre V6 that will power the CTS saloon in Australia through a six-speed automatic transmission and rear-wheel drive.

That engine is essentially the same unit as the power plant used by GM Holden in its range of VE Commodores.

But the Cadillac version runs high-pressure fuel injection to lift power output to 227kW and torque to 370Nm.

GM expects the Cadillac CTS saloon will carry a $75,000 price tag when it hits Australian showroom floors.