A document that was believed to be leaked directly form Cadillac has since been confirmed to have been nothing more than a “scientific guess” from the source, changing what was thought to be known about the upcoming sporty model.
The leak suggested that it was already set in stone for the ATS-V to receive a 6.2-liter 470 horsepower V8 as its range-topping engine, but now that the source has confirmed that its information was a guess based on known available powertrain information, that engine’s fate isn’t quite as certain.
If that engine is the one bound for the ATS-V, fuel economy ratings are estimated at 16/25mpg, which is a significant advantage over the BMW M3. Should a turbocharged V6 be used instead, expect those figures to improve even more.
That said, if Cadillac decides it wants to establish the ATS-V as an innovator in the segment, it could potentially unveil a new twin-turbocharged six-cylinder with comparable power, a lower weight and better fuel economy.
What we know so far
The last ATS-V mule we saw had a pair of high performance, low-profile tires in back that earlier mules did not have. The rear wheels also appear to be somewhat larger, and more sporty, than the wheels we saw last time.
While this mule’s exhaust appears to be tucked up under the bumper, we imagine GM would want to hide any possible dual-exhaust setup so as not to give away the high-performance nature of this test car. What we can see are two exhaust cutouts on the driver’s side and one exhaust cutout on the passenger side.
Overall, the front and rear axles have been moved towards the middle of the chassis on this mule. We can also see the fuel filler has been moved several inches towards the center of the car. That makes for one odd looking vehicle and indicates a shorter-than-CTS chassis. Riding on GM’s new Alpha chassis, the ATS has been described as a smaller CTS-like vehicle. GM intends it to be a true competitor to the BMW 3-series.
Currently, production of the ATS sedan is slated to start in July of 2012, followed by the coupe in July of 2013. No word on when the ATS-V might bow.
References
1.’2014 Cadillac ATS…’ view
