May9
With an updated version of the Cadillac XLR reportedly scheduled for a July launch, it appears as though General Motors' luxury division is hard at work readying the new model. Previous spy photos showed the updated XLR cloaked in light camouflage, but the latest round of shots shows the 2009 model completely uncovered.
Up front, the XLR will see a revised grille opening and more CTS-like headlights. Previous spy shots were of the high performance XLR-V model — indicated that it will bow along side the base model — but this car appears to be a standard-issue car.
New side vents can be seen just aft of the front wheels. The vents — which look look to be inspired by the Cadillac Provoq Concept– will be covered in chrome, but we're not completed sold on this finish. Compared to the rest of the car, the chrome gills just look out of place.
Other details look to have been updated for the new car, such as new side mirrors and a slicker exhaust treatment. The taillights look like they've received a slight revision, too.
In our previous spy shots, you can see a Supercharged badge affixed to the prototype. The current XLR-V uses a 4.4L supercharged Northstar V8 — good for 443 horsepower — but it remains unclear if the new car will retain that setup or switch to the CTS-V's 550 horsepower supercharged 6.2L unit. However, because the new XLR-V is already testing, that short lead time would lead us to believe that Cadillac will stick with the Northstar powerplant.
May 9, 2008
April 14, 2008
March 21, 2008
am I the only one that is amazed at where cadillac is now, compared to where they were a decade ago. I mean some of these cars are just shocking and passionate.
They are beautiful, they are powerful, they are fast in the straight line, but they are cheaply made, handle like a pudding and too expensive.
cant the inside fight the sl or xk because if it cant not its pointless in doing it over
kagon; Thats me, this nameplate was dead to me just ten years ago. They still arent my favorite but they are becoming respectable again.
Cadillac is up there…..with BMW, Mercedes & Audi?? NO…but better than Acura & Infiniti. Lexus & Cadillac are in a league of there own they are not with the faux-luxury group but not in the premiere luxury group either they're kinda "SQUEEZED iiN THE MIDDLE…PACK DOWN iiN THE MIDDLE"
swerve early fuck off.
Where are the fins? Where are the little ducks in the logo?
lol about sums it up BlackX. Cadillac is definitely improving and as Kagon said they made a 180 degree turn from a decade ago. Are Cadillacs just as good as BMW and Mercedes? No, not yet, maybe in the future, maybe never. But their performance and for the price is almost unbeatable.
I think the XLR-V gets the Magnetic Ride that is offered on the Corvette and standard on ZR-1 I had the opportunity to take one of these on a short drive and it was amazing. A very quick car. It also has a very soft ride compared to the Corvette. But it's luxury so because of the softened suspension it won't corner as well as a Corvette. I really hope they switch the 4.4L Northstar S/C V8 for the LSA platform. Imagine 550hp in this thing.
were can i get one.
corvette > in your dreams
I hope they put CTS style in this
This is a GR8 car!
I am glad that they are indeed looking ahead to developing a second gen-XLR, something that honestly I was doubting for a while now. Hopefully this one will be a bit better developed and will have an interior befitting of a car costing 6 figures, I want so bad for it to succeed I really do.
If they really fix the interior, they'll have something. I'm no big Caddy fan, but I always like the way these things look on the road. Very unique and sinister, especially in black. I know it doesn't have top-level performance, but frankly it's good enough for 99.9% of the driving we can do on the street. I'd also like to see them get rid of the Northfart powertrain too. I think it only makes sense to put the Corvette powertrains in them since they are made on the same line, and they are also more efficient.
I didn't know they still made these things
"Cadillac is up there…..with BMW, Mercedes & Audi?? NO"
Ehhhh, wrong there buddy. You are selling Cadillac short because they ARE not only "up there" they are well above those POS German cars. Not only do you get superior luxury and quality in the latest Cadillac models, but you also get reliability, dependibility in decades and hundreds of thousands of flawless miles. Try saying that about any one of those overpriced yuppie-mobiles! Those things are in the junkyard by 50 thousand miles, or right about when the lease is up.
This is a great update to the hottest convertible on the market today. It's too bad Caddy cannot build enough of them to meet the high demand.
@golf4me,
Switching from Northstars, to Chevy small blocks will make the XLR have class-leading engines with reliability none of the competition can touch.
BlackX is right.
Cadillac has to concentrate MUCH MUCH more on quality.
Cadillac also has to concentate on dealer customer service, you bought the Cadillac…NOT….the Cobalt at a Chevy dealership.
People expect to be treated the best if they buy the best.
Get Real / Black X,
What your saying is a matter of opinion and theirs no legitemacy behind what you are saying…w/ customer service, sure, if your gonna dish out the big bucks you would expect the best of service. Quality, i've herd horry stories about both BMW and Lexus and i think Cadillac is on par with its competitors.
** Need More Oil for GM ** lol i agree…
@ need more oil for GM
Yes you are right "they are well above those POS German cars". I mean look they are selling like hot cakes, the demand is so high there is a waiting list like Ferrari. I mean look at how many I see of them on the road, I mean its like I'm driving around a big Cadillac dealership all the time. How do they do it???
/ sarcasm
I didnt sell them short and gave them just enough credit. Until i see some good numbers about the XLR or maybe see more than at least 2 per month and I live in the city with the most exotic cars driven probably in the world besides Europe in Los Angeles, then I would give them credit. But as of right now I see more Ferrari's and Aston Martin's than XLR's. But im glad you have good faith in them every team does need that DIE HARD FAN.
AmericanMade, have you ever been inside Audi A8, BMW 7 series, MB S Class, Jag XJ, VW Phaeton? They costs much more for the attention to details, build quality and the most important thing is the matterials are used for them. The best you could find.
American "luxury" cars are made from cardboard and plastics from used biscuit boxes. Gaps between panels are half inch width, everything shakes and brakes.
Everyone who sais there is no difference between European and American cars is either stupid or has never driven European luxury car.
Actually i have, my brother owns a 2002 BMW 740I and he constantly has little annoying problems with the car including wind "whistling" noise 90km +, lock buttons mysteriously falling out of place, and trim peeling from the rear interior doors. As far as American luxury, cardboard and plastics?? Gaps half inch in width? I dont know what story your dreaming up…and when did i say there was NO difference?
My question to you is, have you ever been inside any of these so called "cardboard/plastic/half inch width" Amercian cars? I think not. Your ignorance is obviously clouding your judgment…
My friend Im running car business, I sell European and American cars for more than 15 years, I have driven new and old cars and believe me I know what Im talking about. How old are you? American cars are improving but European cars are improving 10 times faster. I dont like BMW to be honest but I adore Audi for its amazing quality in every way. Take a test drive of new RS6, R8, S8, S5 and you will see the difference by yourself.
Well,
No.1 thanks for your life story, and wow what an interesting one at that. No.2 My age has no relivence. No.3 No thanks ill ill stick to the cardboard/plastic interiors.
You know, I'm sick of this bullshit. Everybody cries that Cadiilacs are "not as good as Mercedes-Benz or BMW" . Says who? Have you driven a CTS, boys ? "However" , they say " they offer unbeatable performance for the price ". So what they're saying is that the price is not a comparison tool. If the price doesn't matter, idiots, how about if I compare the BMW 3 series with the new Saleen Raptor , ha? They is a bit of a price gap between the two, but hey, that' s not important. Fuck -ups. It's pathetic how some little pathetic weaklings state things they don't understand or comprehend.
@ GUIGIK1.. That was the dumbest comment I've ever seen.. BMW 3 SERIES and Saleen S5S Raptor are in totally different classes.. The people above were comparing the cars that are in same/VERY similar classes.. but with different price.. And yeah anything except americanmade car is good.. but that's my own OPINION.. don't kill me for it.. =/
Cadillac is…
Fantastic!! Awesome!!!! Oh my God!!!!
Very Very Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooood~~
Unless this has truly stepped up to the big leagues, Cadillac had better hope the incredibly loyal- wouldn't buy pretentious European crap if their lives depended on it- customer base still exists. I'm picturing the guy or gal who hosts the society function around the pool but has the fridge full of Bud in the garage.
And by the way all of you 'GM can do no wrong' contributors to our site: if Cadillac is truly the be all and end all of performance/luxury automobiles how come I was able to find 5 used XLRs in the greater Vancouver area including one 2006 with 4774kms for less than 60k Cdn? And that's retail at a Chevy dealer. Walk in with 50k cash and you're likely walking out with an XLR that just depreciated 50% over a mere two years.
Let's see that happen with a BMW 6 series that still has all its fenders.
GIUGIK1 u are an idiot and I will not waste my time to argue with u.
Hey everyones got their own opinion, no need for name calling there "BlackX"…..settle down now, there only posts…
It would be a lot more competitive to have the 6.2L V8 S/C… the SL63 gets the sightly more powerful version of the V8 found in the C63. Cheaper CTS-V gets the big engine, but the more expensive, supposively more sportier XLR-V doesn't? Doesn't make sense.
Giugik1 you miss the point. Cadillac has to sell the CTS at a lower price point as it is an inferior product.
The XLR is a POS, the CTS shows that CAdillac is getting better but it can't bear scrutiny against BMW or a Mercedes-Benz or even an Audi
need more oil: if your point is that the XLRV Rules,touche! But The Best BMW or Audie spanks a caddy, even though the caddy may be great.
I think Blackx and LP640 are the same people.
how many of you have actually driven this?? Its ugly, the ride is terrible, it doesnt look that great and its no match for an SL. The whole of the back rises up to about a mile in the sky when you want to drop the roof and the interior is just rubbish. I'd buy the SL63 instead of this
It's still ugly
FUGLY
Whats really FUGLY is that side vent, thats just wrong on a xlr
Ugly? You people have no sense of style or class. This was, and still is, a great looking car. I'm not a huge fan of the chrome side vent strip, but its not horrible either.
I just hope they applied the CTS style interior to the XLR. It was the interior that needed the most work, not the exterior.
You got Z06 in your nickname so what do you know about style and class?
The XLR is a class leader, no POS German car can match for quality, luxury nor style. 2009 will be yet another hot year for GM and Cadillac
Fake vent ruins what is otherwise an interesting vehicle.
Well said " LaCaLover" FUGLY!
I just hope that those little plastic covers inboard of the headlights are cammo and not production-level trim. Looks like an afterthought that someone stuck on. I also agree that they ought to deep 6 the cheesy chrome vent thingys. They bring down the whole look of the car.
Its just Beautiful! All you eurofags need to get your eyes checked!
Wow, I ove that front end and the great to see that they not using the tubular look for the exhaust.
Though I still think the coupe is going to be the better of the two.
Ok, but not a stylistr8c mirackle.Seems like caddy is paying a10tion 2 Y people v buy lixury cars.
But I an amaxzed at hwhat dcaddilac is doing now.
Provoq is a better name.
Cadillacs R not cheaply made. They R becoming respectable again.
Cadillac is behind BMW, Mercedes & Audi and better than Acura & Lexus. Cadillac is with Infiniti in that luxury-performance niche.
Fins would B cool.
Their performance and for the price is almost unbeatable.
VW (sometimes) is the only POS German car.
Audi A8, BMW 7 series, MB S Class, Jag XJ, VW Phaeton are all nice, and well-built.
XLR is not a POS; the CTS shows that CAdillac is getting better
I don't have a picture of the original model handy, but this looks pretty much the same. This updated model is actually a little bit of a disappointment to me after seeing the cts. Although, as already stated, it's biggest problem was the interior. Hopefully that got upgraded heavily. The cars exterior is already pretty striking, so I can't be to critical.
Need more oil for GM. Hmmm. What an interesting handle. Aptly named I think, because GM's burn & leak oil more than a 1960's PanHead Harley. Style? That thing has style? So says the brainwashed inbred pseudo-intellectual professional laymen. You would say a pile of cow shit had style, if it had GM badging.
Nice Jaguar side vent. Why not the fancy (sarcasm) Buick-like vents of the CTS and STS?
Definition of beauty is subjective: subjectively I like the looks of this Caddy. GM, however, is missing the point: they don't need supercharged engine and extra displacement to boost torque. If they want this car to sell itself and to be front runners and not followers (I don't personally believe GM cadre is capable of such thing) they would put their 6 speed auto hybrid in it and would not be able to chase Hollywood and environment conscious clientèle with a shit stick away. But since they've been marketing to the crowd who is the first generation walking upright (just read Need for oil remarks, if you think I am wrong) GM will wait for BMW & Benz to lead the way. Too bad, it use to be innovative company.
Well I don't really like Cadillacs but that is a pretty cool car. I'll stick to the Challenger though in '09.
"You got Z06 in your nickname so what do you know about style and class?
Comment by LaCaLover, posted on April14 at "
A whole lot more than you kid. Go back to your driving your Element.
it still sucks.
It's a mid-cycle refresh… not a redesign. We probably won't see an entirely new XLR until we start hearing about the C7 Corvette. I completely agree that the interior needed improving however, it wasn't as horrible as some make it out to be, but it did need work - especially at that price point. Frankly, the price is the biggest thing GM screwed up with this car… they should have priced the "base" model at about $60K and the V-version around the same price as the STS-V… $75-80K. Even I'll say that they over-priced this car right off the bat.
But… this isn't a bad car in any sense of the word. It rides as well as an SL, has respectable power in its base configuration and more than respectable power in its V-config. Regardless of the interior, the actual car is well made. Instead of always comparing it to German cars, people need to look at this as what it really is… a softer, tuned-down, more luxurious, hardtop convertible 'Vette.
And as far as the comments regarding dropping the Northstar in lieu of an LS motor go… That's all fine and dandy… but many people get all hung up at the thought of having a "ghastly" OHV engine in a luxury car. Granted, were the XLR to get an LS motor, it would be perhaps the most reliable luxury roadster on the market as well as being of the most potent. But unfortunately, people get a bug up their ass about having a DOHC engine… so Cadillac panders to that notion. Regardless… the Northstar is a still a good motor and GM has done a great job addressing all of its early issues, they've consistently worked on and updated it over the last 15 years and have kept it modern by adding more modern features such as VVT as well as having adapted it for RWD use, and it's current generation has shown to be pretty darn reliable. They've done a lot with that engine and no one would have ever thought that they would eventually de-bore it and slap a supercharger to it. GM's already cancelled development on their future DOHC V8, which leads me to believe they may still have a few more tricks up their sleeve for the Northstar.. a good dose of direct injection would easily put the s/c versions well over the 500hp mark.
I think if they filled in the 3 indentations in the vent with black, and the rest a polished-aluminum look, it would at least look more realistic. As it stands, those vents really look cheap and out of place on a 80k car, and if they are not functional & plastic, then even worse. Too bad, because I think the car is very unique in it's segment. I also think it's a mistake to stick with the woeful Northstar, as the LS motors are not only more powerful, but more efficient (just look at the mpg#'s of vette vs. XLR), and less expensive to boot.
well aren't they sticking with the northstar in order to not compete with the Corvette? if they both had the same engine, same horsepower- what would people choose? this or the ZR1 - i always thought GM watered down the XLR just so they could keep the Corvette on it's pedestal
golf4me… Care to explain why the Northstar is "woeful" exactly?
Well AMGoff, for starters the Supercharged Northstar has barely more (if any??) HP than a base Vette motor. It is also less efficient, and probably costs 3x as much to build…and to my ears, does not sound/feel any better.
Don't even get me started on the normally aspirated version…it's been lapped by some V6's nowadays.
Hmmm a Cadillac XLR. New They Start for $ 80,0650 and a used a 2005 has the trade in value of $ 33,975. $46k + sounds like a fair amount of depreciation for 3 years of driving. . . NOT
Why would anyone want one of these over say, a MB SL350/550?
Because it's American. Fuck yeah.
The XLR was never really a good car, and while Cadillac is improving, it still can't really touch the Germans. I'm also disappointed that they didn't swap the engine, cause at that price who's gonna really buy this??
http://www.leftlanenews.com/wp-content/plugins/iimage-gallery.php?idpost=6846&idg=1&idi=4
Looks far too like an El Camino at this angle….
You don't get it. The XLR is the anti SL. It is for people that don't want to have the sixth SL on the block.. The SL is no sports car anyway. My God it weighs 4200 lbs! These are "lifestyle cars". They dont have to do anything but make you feel good,look coool. Mercedes has owned this niche market for 47 years. I hope the guys at GM/Cadillac realize this and dont give up on the XLR. GM does need a new northstar though.
I can't really get into this. The visual changes they've made did nothing but take away from this car.