share on BufferThe all-new 2014 CTS sedan is based on the rear-drive architecture of the ATS sport sedan and thanks to extensive weight savings – including the first aluminum doors ever on a GM production vehicle – it will be the segment’s lightest car, with an approximate base curb weight of 3,600 lbs. (1,633 kg).
The design evolves Cadillac’s Art & Science design philosophy and is based on the motto ‘Longer, Lower, Leaner’: the new CTS it is 5 inches longer, 1-inch lower, and 250 pounds lighter.
Compared to the outgoing model, the new CTS has a slender, sleeker profile, enabled by the redueced height and by the surface treatment, featuring a number of crease lines that add visual interest and alleviate the “heaviness” of the previous generation.
Above: the 2013 CTS
The renewed front end is characterized by distinctive headlights and integrates some of the design selements introduced with the Ciel Concept in 2011.
Below we report the presentation video, the fotage from the debut at the 2013 New York Auto Show and the official details on the design.
From the official Press Release:
Exterior Design
“The 2014 Cadillac CTS sedan stretches literally and figuratively to take on the segment’s best with a performance-oriented spirit and confident sophistication,” said Bob Boniface, Cadillac exterior design director. “It has a lighter, thinner appearance, while taut, linear design elements emphasize its stretched profile.”
The new CTS sedan is about five inches (127 mm) longer, with a roofline, hood line and windshield base all about an inch lower, emphasizing a long dash-to-axle proportion that enhances the car’s athletic appearance. A faster windshield profile and elongated C-pillars lend perceptual motion to the design.
The CTS sedan also rides on a longer, 114.6-inch (2,911 mm) wheelbase – 1.2 inches longer than the current model – that enhances rear-seat spaciousness and contributes to a smoother ride. Wide front/rear tracks complement the long wheelbase to reinforce its firmly planted stance and contribute to a confident feel on the road.
“The longer, leaner proportion emphasizes the CTS’s rear-drive performance orientation,” said Boniface.
Linear elements, including an uninterrupted feature line that runs from the headlamps to the tail lamps, emphasize the car’s long, lean proportion and contribute three-dimensional qualities to its surface. The sense of flow over the CTS sedan is furthered, too, with a “trapped” hood design – surrounded completely by sheet metal – that eliminates the forward cut lines between the grille and headlamps.
Cadillac’s signature bold vertical lighting elements – including LED front signature lighting details – evolve with headlamps that flow up and with the hood line. The headlamp housings incorporate crystalline LED light guides in the upper and lower forward corners, bringing uniform white illumination without hot spots and serving as the daytime running lamps.
Projector-beam halogen headlamps are standard and high-intensity discharge headlamps with Adaptive Forward Lighting System are available.
At the rear, first-, second- and third-order bezel elements within the tail lamp housings offer a distinctive rear signature for the CTS when illuminated. LED lights within crystalline blade structures ensure a crisp, uniform appearance and the Cadillac script is etched in the upper illumination blade.
Additional exterior features include:
- Wider, more prominent shield grille with Galvano low-gloss polished aluminum trim, intricate grille texture and recessed wreath and crest badge
- Unique grille texture and finish on Vsport
- Available illuminating door handles with Galvano polished aluminum finish
- Seamless Galvano aluminum trim around the side windows that reinforces CTS’s craftsmanship with the “line weighting” of an artist’s pencil – it’s thicker in some areas and thinner in others to emphasize different proportions
- Chevron-shaped center high-mounted stop lamp is inset in the leading edge of the trunk lid for a more elegant, integrated appearance
- Through-fascia trapezoidal exhaust ports are accented with chrome trim
- Seventeen-inch wheels are standard, with 18- and 19-inch wheels available.
Ten exterior colors will be offered on the 2014 CTS sedan.
Interior Design
A roomier, driver-centric cockpit interior with integrated technology and hand-crafted appointments complements the exterior elements and supports the CTS sedan’s driving experience.
“There’s an intuitive and connected feel to the cabin, with asymmetrical features that focus the controls and displays on the driver,” said Eric Clough, Cadillac director of interior design.
“It’s an open, flowing space that takes advantage of the CTS’s enhanced interior room and layers it with technology, authentic materials and refined amenities to give it character that is distinctive in the segment.”
An industry-exclusive, one-piece wrapped upper instrument panel flows from the base of the windshield down to the base of the center stack, while the “brow” over the instrument cluster reaches across the center stack, exemplifying the asymmetrical cues. The center stack and the wider center console that blends with it are designed around Cadillac’s CUE infotainment system, which features a high-resolution eight-inch touch screen.
In front of the driver, a blend of analog gauges and a 5.7-inch driver information center display is standard, while other models feature a 12.3-inch color reconfigurable screen with four levels of information displays: simple, balanced, performance or enhanced.
Eight distinctive interior environments – including six two-tone combinations – are offered, each trimmed with authentic wood, carbon fiber or aluminum. Leather seating is available, including available full semi-aniline, with hand-crafted, cut-and-sewn executions.
“The range of interior environments reflects the ambience of customers’ driving experiences – from relaxed touring to serious performance,” said Clough.
“They enhance the emotional connection to the CTS, while always reinforcing the craftsmanship and refinement at the foundation.”
CTS sedan also offers Cadillac’s first full-leather, 20-way adjustable front seats, which includes 14 power-assisted adjustments, a manual cushion length extension and four-way manual headrests.
The 20-way full-leather seats are available, with 16-way adjustable seats standard with leather seats. The CTS’s standard seats feature 14-way adjustment.
All seats were designed to deliver segment-leading comfort and craftsmanship. Heated front and rear seats and ventilated front seats are available.
Additional interior features include:
- Hand-wrapped and motorized cup holder lid that operates with a light touch, much like inserting a disc into a DVD player
- Electrically actuated and locking glove box – with LED lighting and two tiers of storage – leads a list of multiple storage compartments that also includes a compartmentalized storage area in the center console, lit map pockets in all doors and a hidden storage area behind an articulating climate control/radio control panel
- Storage under the center armrest includes auxiliary power points, as well as SD card, auxiliary jack and USB ports
- Available indirect LED ambient lighting in the instrument panel, door panels, foot wells, door pull recesses, door map pockets, various storage locations and the front door sills – where the Cadillac script is illuminated
- Available tri-zone climate system includes vents in the rear of the center console for greater rear-seat comfort
- Available manual rear door shades and power-operated rear window shade.
The CTS is offered as a well-equipped standard model and in Luxury, Performance and Premium Collections. A Bose® Cabin Surround audio system is offered on the standard model, as well as Luxury, and it is standard with the Performance and Premium Collections. A navigation system is also available with Luxury and is standard with the Performance and Premium Collections.
Connectivity
The CTS sedan’s driving experience is complemented with CUE, Cadillac’s comprehensive, in-vehicle experience that merges intuitive design with smartphone-influenced controls and commands for information and entertainment data. It is designed to be unique for each consumer, from the “simple user” to the fully connected “super user.”
CUE pairs entertainment and information data from up to 10 Bluetooth-enabled mobile devices, USBs, SD cards and MP3 players with a vehicle infotainment system that reduces complexity through customized information, voice commands and only four buttons. It can store up to 60 favorites, including radio stations (AM/FM/XM), contacts, destinations, music and other media. This feature is convenient for those who travel to the same destination regularly and want to save locations such as hotels and restaurants.
The heart of CUE is the eight-inch high-resolution touch screen, seamlessly integrated into the instrument panel center stack. The vibrant, high-resolution LCD screen displays CUE’s home page, which resembles a smartphone’s screen with large, easy-to-target icons to execute commands. Customers can “fling” through lists, swipe and drag just as they would on a tablet or smartphone. In fact, users with compatible smartphones can pair them with CUE using Bluetooth or a USB connection. This gives customers the ability to play passengers’ music or other media through the vehicle
In addition to easily identifiable icons covering everything from navigation to phone to music apps such as Pandora, CUE is designed to accommodate new features and enhancements and be highly customizable. It also incorporates natural language voice recognition, which allows customers to safely place calls, enter destinations, browse media, play music and control other functions simply by telling the vehicle what to do.
A number of smartphone apps for entertainment, navigation, vehicle care and maintenance and more are available from Cadillac. They can be controlled through the CUE interface via the touch-screen, steering wheel controls or voice commands.
OnStar is also accessible with CUE. Besides the traditional Blue button, customers can access OnStar via the screen display.
(Source: Cadillac)
Very nice indeed!
The 2014 CTS is an evolutionary step in the Art & Science design language but it is a huge improvement over the last design inside and out. It is good to see an American car company that is willing to slug it out with the big boys on their turf. Ford … er … Lincoln is wimping out tragically and Chrysler is still trying to find itself in the olive grove.
If Cadillac can build quality and reliability into its latest offerings, they can make some noise in this segment, perhaps at the expense of the Japanese luxury brands and the Korean pretenders. If Cadillac can show an enhanced presence on the racing circuit in the new USCR series and DTM overseas, they will get the Germans’ attention as well.