Cool Caddy to cruise in at Frankfurt

CADILLAC will pull the wraps off its new "world sedan" - dubbed CTS - at next month's Frankfurt motor show.

The newcomer is further evidence of Cadillac's concerted bid to appeal to an international audience with lean, chiselled designs.

In the past, the US luxury car-maker has been associated with heavy, ponderous boulevard cruisers that embodied the "bigger is better" adage.

The newcomer is built on an all-new rear-wheel platform - and this hardware is likely to provide the basis for the next-generation Commodore, due in 2005.

At the new Caddy's heart lies a 3.2-litre V6, built at Vauxhall's plant at Ellesmere Port in Cheshire, UK. This unit generates 164kW at 6000rpm and 295Nm of torque at 3400rpm.

While most V6 engines use a 60-degree inclination, the CTS team chose a 54-degree bank angle to accommodate the packaging requirements of CTS. The 54-degree angle between the cylinder banks is unique among GM's four-camshaft V6s.

The engine is mated to either a five-speed manual - the first manual gearbox in a Cadillac for almost half a century - or five-speed automatic transmission.

Despite the modest-sized engine - by Cadillac standards - performance is said to be more than brisk. The manufacturer claims the CTS can sprint from standstill to 100km/h in under seven seconds.

Its edgy styling obviously derives its inspiration from the Evoq concept car that was unveiled at the 1999 Detroit motor show.

Cadillac says the integrated headlights "convey the high-tech image of optical instruments and high-end camera lenses".

The headlights are thin and tall to create more space for the large louvred egg-crate grille.

Inside is all the luxury features Cadillac customers have come to expect. It makes use of warm, rich, inviting materials and colours, using wood only in areas where the driver will contact it, such as on the steering wheel, gearknob and door handles.

But unlike Cadillacs of the past, the CTS promises impressive handling dynamics, having been tested extensively on Germany's famed Nürburgring circuit - which comprises about 20km of sinuous tarmac.

The CTS is due in Europe in mid-2002 but don't expect to see it here.

GM's local subsidiary - Holden - has contemplated bringing in the Cadillac brand here in the past, but the proposal was shelved.

Holden chairman and CEO Peter Hanenberger said introducing Cadillac may have adversely affected sales of the locally-made Statesman and Caprice and confused the role of Saab - which is also owned by GM.