Cadillac ATS-V targets BMW’s best

Seeking to shed its image as a purveyor of placid, flaccid transportation for affluent septuagenarians, Cadillac introduced the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter-inspired CTS sedan in 2002.

That car marked the inauguration of Cadillac’s “Art and Science” design language, a key departure from its prior “Early Bird Special” aesthetic. Art and Science were intended to shake the somnolent brand from its torpor, and put it in conversation with luxury incumbents such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus.

The trouble is that neither the first-generation CTS nor any of the subsequent models, for all their creased and folded sheetmetal, menacing grilles, imposing vertical lighting and indeed, deeply impressive driving dynamics, has sufficiently convinced buyers that Cadillac doesn’t just sell hearses to funeral homes and dreary sedans to Uncle Mort.

The compact ATS is the edgiest of later efforts to make Cadillac relevant beyond the gates of retirement communities. This new ATS-V hot-rod variant, available in coupe and sedan body styles, stands as a direct challenge to BMW’s vaunted M3 sedan and M4 coupe on tracks, in executive parking lots and in collegians’ aspirations.

Cadillac CTS-V qualifications:

Vital Stats: 2016 Cadillac ATS-V

• Base price: $63,660, inclusive of destination charge
• As tested: $74,355
• EPA fuel economy: 16mpg city, 24mpg highway (automatic transmission)
• Powertrain: 464hp, 445lb-ft twin-turbocharged direct-injected 3.6-litre gasoline V6 engine, eight-speed automatic transmission, rear-wheel drive with electronically controlled limited-slip differential
• Standard equipment: Magnetic shock absorbers, Brembo six-piston front and four-piston rear brakes, driver-selectable Performance Traction Management system, 18in aluminium wheels, Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires
• Major options: Track Performance Package with carbon fibre trim, performance data computer, Recaro seats

Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen has been stoking the internet fires, calling out “Germanmobile fanboys” on Facebook – fighting words from the former Audi of America president. With regard to metrics such as acceleration, horsepower and torque, the Teutons “are already whipped” by the ATS-V, de Nysschen recently posted. Not coincidentally, Cadillac’s new advertising tag line is “Dare greatly”.

The ATS-V Coupe certainly looks the part, especially when fitted, as our test vehicle was, with the optional Track Performance Package, with its added bits of carbon fibre trim. Cadillac executive chief engineer Dave Leone proudly notes that this is not just any fibrous weave, but rather a “book-matched” one, with fibres painstakingly aligned like the words on the pages of an open book.

The most visible portion of the carbon decoration is the heat extractor in the middle of the car’s hood. The ATS-V has a total of eight heat exchangers aimed at keeping engine oil, transmission fluid and differential oil at optimal temperature as the car’s twin-turbocharged V6 engine doles out 464 horsepower and 445 pound-feet of torque. For comparison, the in-line six-cylinder turbocharged engine in BMW’s benchmark M3 and M4 produces 425 horsepower and 406 lb-ft torque, and the Cadillac’s advantage is discernable.

Applying all that power is easy, thanks to an eight-speed automatic transmission and a slick, mischief-inviting six-speed manual. The latter combines accurate stick throws with a clutch pedal that is light on effort and long on feel for the friction point, making it easy to finesse the ATS-V from a stop without applying any throttle whatsoever.

As with other modern automatic transmissions, the notion of needing the paddles for manual control during spirited sprints is obsolete. The ATS-V’s computer knows which gear the car needs and when it needs it. Hammering round the Circuit of the Americas outside Austin, Texas, the engine and automatic transmission create seamless, brutal forward motion:

On track, the manual transmission is, by design, more involving than the automatic and for some, more fun. However, new features lower the effort, as the computer can automatically rev the engine to match RPMs for downshifts. For speedier upshifts, the ATS-V permits no-lift shifting, so the driver depresses the clutch and slides the shifter as normal, but doesn’t lift off the gas. Instead, the computer cuts power automatically during the gear change, restoring full power faster than the driver ever could. It is magic, though it feels utterly alien to drivers whose muscle memory dictates that clutch and gas pedals operate in opposition.

Pushing for a quick lap time reveals that the standard Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires provide Corvette-like 1.25g cornering grip. But unlike the same tires on the BMW, which benefit from a custom rubber-compound formulation, the ATS-V’s tires feel greasy at their limit, giving no warning before they finally do begin to slide.

As excellent and fast as the ATS-V is on the track, the car is supremely quiet and refined in regular driving – a good thing, considering these cars will spend virtually their entire lives on public roads. With the coupe’s windows lowered, there is surprisingly little noise or turbulence in the cabin at typical highway speeds.

Texas permits less-typical public highway speeds, as high as 80mph (129km/h), by which time there is a bit of buffeting inside the car, but not enough to force the windows up if the driver is appreciating pleasant weather.

Indeed, the ATS-V’s quiet comfort and the quality of its interior appointments will advance the argument that Cadillac is a legitimate contender for luxury shoppers’ money. For those who appreciated the early-model CTS-V, whose raucous V8 power made it a traffic citation in waiting, this change can make the ATS-V seem somewhat emasculated.

But that rowdy old CTS-V is one of the several Art and Science Cadillacs that failed to extract the brand from the retiree buffet line. In contrast, the ATS-V’s refinement and polish could net Cadillac a table at the hot, Michelin-starred boîte. Barring that, the brand must content itself with the knowledge that the ATS-V could strafe the Germans on the track, if not in the showroom.

Source: BBC News