On stage at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit today Ed Welburn,
GM's chief designer, VP Design unveiled a new coupe edition of the CTS. Currently
the CTS coupe is labeled only as a concept altough such a car could appear in
production in the next few years.
"(The CTS Coupe) can even take a diesel," Welburn says.
Noteworthy in Welburn's introduction was the mention that the coupe is designed
to accomodate the 2.9L V-6 turbodiesel being developed for overseas markets. The
new diesel V-6 was initially announced at the 2007 Geneva Motor Show.
At the time General Motors officials stated that the engine would only be used
in European market editions of the CTS. However, recent developments including the passage of the energy bill that included
new fuel economy requirements have caused GM and other manufacturers to reconsider
future power-train lineups.
The first concrete result of this was the recent cancellation of a new high-feature
V-8 engine program which was slated to replace the current Northstar V-8 used
in several Cadillac models. Jim Taylor, Cadillac General Manager confirmed that falling market share for
V-8 engines in Cadillac models and the new rules ultimately led to the decision.
Taylor also confirmed that decision to reserve the 2.9L V-6 turbodiesel for foreign
markets was being reconsidered by General Motors in light of recent developments.
The recent announcement of Euro VI emissions rules that will be close to US Tier2
Bin5 regulations will require GM to update the engine for other markets making
a US introduction more likely.
The unveiling of this new concept with diesel prominently discussed is the first
concrete evidence of this, since GM has not publicly discussed this engine at
a US event previously. The new engine is expected to debut in 2009 in European
market CTS sedans with 250hp and 406lb-ft of tourque.
