Cadillac Laguna-Seca
a Panamera fighter?
a Panamera fighter?
Op-Ed by MonaroSS
GMI Contributor – 21 March 2013
Today member DirtyMoney asked me to chop a Caddy Panamera competitor from the C7 Corvette. It doesn't really lend itself for that but a Panamera fighter on a stretched Alpha+ could work and that got me thinking...
OK, so we have a new CTS and presumably a new CTS-V on the way. We also believe that there will be a new large Cadillac sedan and perhaps coupe on Omega. But where is the brutal performance Cadillac of the near future going to come from? And I don't just mean brutal in terms of power, but in terms of on-the-road image.
For me the modern day Cadillac brand only hit my radar when GM crammed a small block V8 into a CTS and made the first CTS-V. Like many, with just a V6 in it, I would never have seen the CTS beyond a BMW 3 or 5 Series. And it wasn't just the go, but also the show, that caught my eye. It had a stance and a purpose to it. Yes we can say that it and the following CTS-V and CTS-V Coupe may look a bit like street fighters. And some may complain they are not sophisticated looking enough for where Cadillac wants to be in the marketplace. But have you seen some of the Benz AMG's lately - talk about brutal and street fighter looks.
So I am just a bit worried that the new ATS-V and the next CTS-V may be a bit too mild mannered looking, as Cadillac seeks to make them appear more sophisticated. Yes, I can see good marketing reasons why that may be a smart move, especially for conservative markets in Asia and Europe, but does Cadillac want to completely walk away from making muscular bruisers in suits? I hope not.
To that end I think perhaps GM should consider putting it's Caddy muscle image into a dedicated bruiser of a street machine that has as it's raison d'etre the power and performance to take on and beat all comers in its class. Cars such as the Panamera should be it's prime target, and if it needs a 7 litre DI Twin-Turbo pushrod V8, and huge hood and fender vents to exhaust all the heat of such a monster power plant, then all the better...
OK, Cadillac could off the TTV6 as an entry-level motor, but it would be an 800hp/1000 ft-lb TTV8 Laguna-Seca-V that would bring home the bacon. Let's face it, it is going to be a few generations before Cadillac will be perceived to be as sophisticated as its Euro competitors; but top-speed, 0-60 and Nürburgring numbers are faster to establish...
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EDIT: Below is for those who wanted to see what it would look like as a 4-door Corvette Super America...
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EDIT: Below are some mods people have requested to tone it down a bit...
I guess the standard sedan could be like the bottom pic and the 3-window with the different front clip, hood vents and more pronounced fender vents and flairs could be the V version...
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And a split between the two...