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Cadillac ATS to go racing in 2015 as CTS.V.R replacement

Cadillac has been racking up victories with the CTS.V.R in Pirelli World Challenge racing for two model generations now, including recent GT class championships in 2012 and 2013. However, even winning racers eventually have to retire, and it looks like the CTS may be taking a bow at the end of the season. In its place, Caddy is reportedly working on a new racecar based on the ATS Coupe, and it might even get to compete internationally.
According to Racer, Pratt & Miller Engineering is leading the development and is already lapping the ATS racecar in Michigan for testing. It reportedly drops the CTS' V8 in favor of a twin-turbocharged V6 powering the rear wheels. Since this is the same team behind the hugely successful Corvette Racing program and the current CTS.V.R, the latest car appears to be in good hands.
The new model would also adhere to GT3 rules, according to Racer, and that might signal a big change for Cadillac's motorsports program. It means that the ATS could be sold to teams in the numerous series around the world that accept these vehicles. That would broaden the luxury coupe's exposure and put it up against GT3 racecars from premium brands, like Bentley, Porsche and McLaren. If it wins, the change could be a marketing bonanza for the brand.

Cadillac prepares to top its own 'Ring record with upcoming new CTS-V

It was a big deal back in 2008 when the original Cadillac CTS-V clocked a lap time of 7:59 at the Nürburgring, making it the fastest sedan ever to lap the Nordschleife to that date. Not many four-doors have bested that time since - the list consisting pretty much only of the Porsche Panamera Turbo - but now hot hatches are lapping faster than that, so you can bet that the new one will manage an even better time.
Now we've spotted the upcoming new CTS-based performance sedan several times before undergoing testing in locations around the world, but this is the first time we've seen it at the Nürburgring, apparently using the Goodyear Dunlop test facility as its base of operations (and still wearing Michigan manufacturer plates, incidentally). Considering how well the outgoing CTS-V performed and how much further you can bet Cadillac will push the envelop this time around, a new sedan lap record is almost a certainty - and we can only hope for an all-out war between Europe's performance sedan power houses to ensue.

Cadillac can't keep up with Escalade demand, can't move its sedans

No matter how much Cadillac revitalizes its lineup and its image, it seems that all consumers want is the Escalade. In fact, Automotive News reports that General Motors can't keep up with demand for the fullsize luxury SUV, despite sticker prices that start at over $70,000 and approach six figures at the top end of the spectrum. Contrast that with sedans like the ATS and CTS, which are far cheaper but which Cadillac hasn't been able to move fast enough to keep up with production, prompting both the manufacturer and dealers to offer substantial incentives to keep them from piling up. Cadillac had been resisting a price cut of the ATS or CTS, lest it hurt resale values – itself a factor that could explain consumers' reluctance to buy them in the first place – but been offering subsidized leases, discounted financing, rebates and cheaper options. Combined with incentives from individual dealers, according to AN, buyers can be looking at five-figure discounts on buying a new Cadillac sedan. And now, finally, it seems the CTS will indeed get a little bit off its bottom line. Yet GM has been producing the ATS and CTS at rates that their sales can't keep up with. The automaker was forced to idle the plant in Lansing, MI, where it assembles the ATS and CTS for six weeks starting this past December. And since it reopened late in January, it's been reduced to a single shift as dealers try to move the metal they've already got. Meanwhile the plant in Arlington, TX, that produces the Escalade and its Chevy and GMC siblings has been running on overtime, with three shifts throughout the week and even into the weekend to keep up with demand. Profitable as it's been for Cadillac and GM, though, the Escalade does not represent the future of where it wants to take the brand - separating the Escalade as almost a brand unto itself that's been left out of the company's new naming scheme. If only it could make its sedans as successful as its fullsize SUVs, it'll be all set.