General Motors Co. said Monday it will offer a twin-turbo V-6 engine and eight-speed transmission — both firsts for the automaker — in its all-new 2014 Cadillac CTS available this fall.
The new 3.6-liter engine can achieve 420 horsepower and 430 foot-pounds of torque, and has been certified as having the highest output in a V-6 engine in General Motors' history, said Richard Bartlett, assistant chief engineer for the engine.
"The new Cadillac twin turbo brings a new dimension of technologically advanced performance to the all-new 2014 Cadillac CTS sedan," David Leone, a GM executive chief engineer, said in a statement. "Delivering power and sophistication, it marks another large step forward in the product-driven expansion of Cadillac."
The engine is married with an eight-speed transmission, which will provide a 1.5 percent fuel economy improvement over a six-speed transmission, Leone said. He would not provide exact mileage, but said it will be above the mid-20s on the highway and that mileage in the city would be respectable.
"It's not a guzzler," he said.
GM said the twin turbo — which is not a replacement for the high-performance V-8 engine in its CTS V-Series — will have more horsepower and torque than the BMW 5-Series equipped with a 4.4-liter V-8. Bartlett said the twin-turbo powerplant weighs less than engines in key competitors.
"From a density standpoint, we think we've got a very competitive product here," he said.
The new engine will help the CTS go from zero to 60 miles per hour in 4.6 seconds; it can hit a top speed of 170 mph.
New for the 2014 CTS model, a 2-liter turbocharged four-cylinder rated at 272 horsepower will serve as the base engine and get about 30 mpg highway. That's a variant of the engine offered in the Cadillac ATS and replaces a 3 liter V-6 engine as the CTS base.
Cadillac also will offer a 3.6-liter V-6 naturally aspirated engine in the new CTS, a variant of one offered in the ATS but with increased torque. That will generate 321 horsepower.
The new V-6 twin-turbo engine also will be available in the 2014 Cadillac XTS large sedan.
"All of the people who said XTS needed a V-8, well today you know why we did not do that," GM North America President Mark Reuss tweeted Monday. "Twin-turbo V-6 will make you smile."
The carmaker will reveal the new CTS next week at the New York International Auto Show.
GM partnered with suppliers Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for the turbocharger and Aisin Seiki Co. Ltd. of Japan for the eight-speed automatic transmission which works with paddle shifters. The twin-turbo engine will be produced at a GM plant in Mexico.
GM is working on its own eight-speed transmission but it's not ready yet, Leone said.
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