Unfortunately, the CTS, ATS, and even the XTS’s time is drawing to a close as Cadillac hopes to replace all of them with one universal platform simply called the CT5. Unsurprisingly, the CT5 follows after the nomenclature established by the likes of the CT6 and XT5. But what can we expect from the CT5? That is one giant question mark at this point.
The CTS and ATS will take their final bow in 2019, which is when the prototype CT5 will likely make its debut. If we’re placing bets, we think that it will probably be the same size as the current third-generation CTS, if not perhaps slightly smaller—think something in-between the CTS and ATS.
As you can see from the spy shot, the CT5 is definitely larger than the swan-song, and short-lived, ATS. And while heavily camouflaged, we gain a sneak peek at what Cadillac has in store for the future. A large grille seems to be one of the biggest takeaways, though it’s hard to tell as the car seems to be camouflaged as a Dodge Charger.
Note the heavily contoured door panels, a feature that is more than likely a red herring more than anything else. It matches the hood scoop that is clearly there to throw us off the scent—though we wouldn’t be mad if it came out looking something like that. The headlights are barely visible but are obviously projector-style accented with LEDs.
And while there is much to ponder about the exterior execution of the CT5, it’s what will come under the hood that is keeping us up at night. The base model CT5 will, in all likelihood, carry an assortment of Cadillac-derived powerplants, including the 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder, and twin-turbocharged 3.6 liter V6. But the real questions is what the V model will house.
Though CT5-V sounds kind of strange at the moment, and could possibly carry a new moniker, we can’t help but wonder what might reside under the hood of Cadillac’s newest performance sedan. Will it get an LT5 eventually, or will it come equipped with the 4.2-liter, twin-turbo V8 LT6/7 we’ve been hearing so much about?
The leaked information on GM’s next-generation engines seems to indicate that Cadillac was heavily involved in at least one of the designs and will likely find it’s way between the fenders of the CT5. Our hope here is that Cadillac will continue the V8 heritage established with the V-series models, but there is a distinct possibility that it could land on something similar to the LF4 V6 that powers the ATS-V and CTS Vsport (LF3).
For now, we’ll just have to be content with the fact that Cadillac is working on a new performance sedan and try to enjoy the fact that the CTS-V has another couple of years left in it. We hope that the CT5 ends up looking something like the Escala Concept, which debuted back in 2016. Judging by the proportions of the test mule, it could likely be just that. Only time will tell, but we can’t wait to see what’s under that camouflage—and that hood.