ELKHART LAKE, Wis. -- Any Cadillac customer hoping that the replacement for the SRX midsize crossover scheduled for next spring will be followed by a go-fast V-series version is likely to be disappointed.
Luxury brands have expanded their high-performance portfolios to include crossovers, such as BMW's X5 M, a 567-hp beast that can go from 0 to 60 mph in 4 seconds flat. But Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen isn't interested in affixing a V badge to a crossover anytime soon.
"If you want to get our engineers to instantly experience a massive rolling of the eyes, you should ask them" about a V-series crossover, de Nysschen said here on the sidelines of a media test drive for the 2016 CTS-V sedan.
Instead, de Nysschen hinted that Cadillac will look to offer Vsport variants of its crossovers. Cadillac introduced the Vsport line in 2013 as an answer to Audi's S line, for example: It's a step below a track-ready V series, but still offers more powerful engines than standard versions and some high-performance hardware, such as magnetic damping.
Cadillac offers just one crossover today, the SRX, which will be renamed XT5 for the next generation. But at least three more are in the works.
De Nysschen said some future crossovers will lend themselves to a high-performance package. And he even envisions a Vsport badge on an Escalade someday.
"I could well imagine a high-performance, sporty, satisfying version of an Escalade," he said, "that's quite different than what we have today."
