Cadillac flagship sedan to be named CT6

September 24, 2014 01:00 AM

The Elmiraj is built on the same architecture as "an ongoing Cadillac vehicle development project slated for future production," GM says.

Cadillac said today that it will name its new, lineup-topping sedan the CT6, marking the start of a top-to-bottom overhaul of the luxury brand's nomenclature.

“The Cadillac CT6 continues our brand’s elevation and global growth,” Cadillac chief marketing officer Uwe Ellinghaus said in a statement. “CT6 will constitute an entirely new approach to the prestige sedan, emphasizing a dynamic driving experience and advanced technology.”

The rear-wheel-drive sedan that is slated for a launch in late 2015 was code-named LTS during its internal development. Ellinghaus said earlier this year that he viewed Cadillac's naming strategy as a weakness and was working on revising it.

The CT6 name is derived from the CTS, its "centerpiece car line," Cadillac said in a statement, and indicates a "coming shift to a simplified naming convention for future Cadillac models." "CT" will be used for car models, with the number reflecting the size and position in the lineup.

Ellinghaus said that the new naming convention will help shoppers better understand each vehicle’s place within Cadillac’s hierarchy. But he said the nameplates would change only when a vehicle is redesigned, meaning that the ATS, CTS and XTS names will stick around for several years.

The two-door Elmiraj concept was first shown in August 2013 and is expected to provide styling cues for Cadillac's new flagship.

The CT6 will "expand the Cadillac range upwards -- meaning it will not replace any current product," Cadillac said in the statement. It will be slotted above the CTS and XTS, aiming to "join the elite group of top-class large luxury cars."

GM said the car will use advanced, lightweight materials and "new body construction techniques to reduce fuel consumption while enhancing driving dynamics and safety."

The car is expected to borrow styling cues from the Cadillac Elmiraj concept.

Travis Hester, executive chief engineer for the CT6, said in a statement that the car will be built on a new architecture and will be the "lightest and most agile car" among top-level luxury sedans.

He said the sedan has been engineered using lessons learned from the ATS and CTS sedans, which were built on a new, lightweight platform.

GM will begin building the CT6 in the fourth quarter of 2015 at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant.