Cadillac Confirms ATS-V Sedan Will Debut at 2014 LA Auto Show

Cadillac will use this year’s LA Auto Show to reveal the aggressive version of its ATS sedan.

The luxury division of General Motors has confirmed that its high-performance ATS-V will make its world debut at the November auto show. When it does, the all-new model from Cadillac will be aimed squarely at the leader of the compact sedan segment, the venerable BMW M3.

Just what will power the ATS-V is still unknown, though it’s expected that Cadillac will use the engine from the larger CTS V-Sport sedan. That twin-turbocharged, 3.6-liter V-6 makes 420 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque.

Those horsepower and torque figures would put the ATS-V on equal footing with BMW’s M3, which has 425 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque.

The CTS’s engine is powerful enough to launch it from zero to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds, a figure that would surely drop in the lighter ATS-V. An eight-speed automatic transmission is standard.

The ATS-V that launches in LA will be in sedan form only, Cadillac said Monday, though the ATS-V Coupe is expected to debut in 2015. So, too, is the larger CTS-V sedan, which will debut at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show in January. Expect the CTS-V to feature a 600-horsepower version of the fire-breathing supercharged V-8 lurking under the hood of Chevy’s new Corvette Z06.

Both the ATS-V and the CTS-V will go on sale in 2015. And the performance variants will be counted on to bring some enthusiasm to Cadillac’s lineup of cars. While both the ATS and CTS were well-received in the press, buyers have been less eager to put one in their garage.

Sales of the ATS are down 21 percent for the first seven months of 2014. They’re essentially flat for the CTS, despite this being the first full year that the current generation is on sale.

When the ATS-V does break cover in November, it will be one of a record 25 world debuts at the 2014 LA Auto Show. Brands like Acura, Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Hyundai, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Scion, Toyota, Volvo and Volkswagen will be showcasing shiny new cars, trucks and crossovers for the first time. Another 30 vehicles are expected to make their North American debuts at the show.

The LA Auto Show will be open to the media Nov. 19-20 and the general public Nov. 21-30.

This article appeared in print in the August 26th, 2014 edition of Hamodia.