February 11, 2016, 15:12 / Auto

Cadillac CT6: Attention, engine!

A trip around Los Angeles in the most suitable car for this city Kirill Tishchenko

Just look at the Cadillac CT6 to understand that this car is not about breaking the mold, technological revolution and autistic geniuses in sweatshirts / Cadillac

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“Chloe Moretz looks like an ordinary teenager, but she drives an impressive Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 AMG,” the latest issue of a glossy magazine tells me in the lobby of our hotel in Los Angeles. Another success for the PR service of Mercedes-Benz, from which the Hollywood starlet is already “buying” a second model. And a clear miscalculation by Cadillac, whose latest Dare Greatly ad campaign features little-known even in the U.S. startups as “daring” celebrities, as well as veteran director Richard Linklater and Santa Claus-like Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. A person far from the auto industry might inadvertently think that Cadillac itself is an independent automobile startup like Tesla, bravely fighting the seasoned sharks of the auto business.

But it’s enough to see the Cadillac CT6 to understand: this car is not about breaking the mold, technological revolution and autistic geniuses in sweatshirts. The appearance of the sedan at dusk looks impressive and cinematic - as if Master Yoda is running towards you with lightsabers in outstretched hands. The swords are approaching, and you see that the futuristic blades of vertical running lights adorn the long sedan, whose classic “limousine” silhouette with a short trunk tail is reminiscent of a Rolls-Royce that has dropped a couple of hundredweight. Such cars are destined to dock at red carpets under camera flashes and flash their body parts in the tabloids. An extroverted car, which is designed to echo the snow-white Hollywood smile of its passengers with the chrome-plated shine of a wide grille.

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True, the rear end with wide boomerang lights seems rustic - something like this could be worn by some Chevrolet Malibu. At the presentation, held in a real film studio, interior design chief Eric Clough defends the result of his colleagues’ creativity: “This is still a representative car, and we have to combine original solutions with conservative ones. But look at this!” Looking like a university professor, Clough spreads his long fingers with a caliper and places them over the top of the front wheel. “The height of the fender at this point significantly affects the perception of the car. The lower the hood is lowered above the wheels, the more dynamic and sporty the profile. In this parameter, we managed to beat the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, but the CT6 is longer than it.”

The length of the CT6 exceeds not only the E-Class, but also the BMW “Seven”, while being lighter than the BMW 5 Series sedan. To make these comparisons, there was no need to rummage through the specifications of different manufacturers: pragmatic Americans, unlike other representatives of the premium segment, do not pretend that they exist in a vacuum, and themselves provide detailed data with an analysis of competitors. “The all-new body structure combines aluminum and high-strength steels, laser welding, adhesive joints and riveting,” CT6 chief engineer Travis Hester gesticulates vigorously against the backdrop of the CT6 body “skeleton,” the lacy design of which in places resembles lace. “This allowed us to reduce weight more significantly than if we had used aluminum exclusively, as some of our competitors do. In addition, aluminum requires a much thicker layer of noise and vibration insulating material than steel. Thanks to this, we were able to create our own class: the Cadillac CT6 is an executive sedan with the handling and fuel efficiency of a business sedan.”

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But why does such a slender sedan need such lush headrests? “They have audio system speakers. Oh, you haven’t been to the audio booth yet!” – Clough smiles mysteriously, and we wander through the semi-darkness of the pavilion to the sedan standing under the Bose sign. A representative of this company is ready to talk about the top-end Panaray audio system for hours, and listen to him, because all the “music” in other cars is installed differently. “Cadillac gave us a completely free hand, allowing us to install the speakers where we want, and not on a residual basis, as is usually the case with other cars,” the interlocutor flips through technical drawings on an iPad, demonstrating something like an acoustic mycelium, which has sprouted in clusters of speakers in the most unexpected places of the cabin. The front speakers do not hit the windshield, but are aimed from the front panel at the passengers. The dual tweeters on the side stands are oriented at slight angles to the central axis and to each other - the same arrangement Bose uses in floor-standing “articulated” speakers for concert halls. In the cavities of the body under the feet of the front passengers, two pairs of bass speakers are placed “backwards” to each other, to reduce vibrations. There are 34 sound emitters in total, and, without hesitation, a company representative declares, the best sound not only among cars, but also among most home audio systems.

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The demo CT6 with Panaray was turned into a cinema hall: a semi-abstract video sequence was projected onto the walls in front of the car and inside it. The sound was stunning - the very first chords plowed my skin with waves of goosebumps. The power and dynamics are like in a large cinema hall, and the realism and detail... I could confidently indicate where in the cabin the disembodied mouth of the Afro-Swedish singer Seinabo Sey, whom Bose invites for her demo recordings, is located, and how far from her the violinist sits in the orchestra. In short, the Cadillac CT6 turned out to be one of the few cars that managed to make a strong impression while still static.

For a brilliant musical performance, I was quite ready to give the sedan a head start in the choreographic department - after all, a mobile cinema of this level does not have to be well managed. But the CT6 turned out to be an unexpectedly good partner on serpentine roads, waltzing from turn to turn with the suppleness and insinuating grace of a British cat and making you forget about the metal tail several meters behind the back of the front seat. “Basic” two-liter turbo engine 269 hp. With. The sedan carried the sedan unexpectedly easily, responsively following the gas pedal. But sometimes the 8-speed automatic was completely in vain to remind of its existence, forgetting to shift up after turning or releasing the gas.

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The CT6's body structure combines aluminum and high-strength steels, laser welding, adhesive joints and riveting, explains CT6 chief project engineer Travis Hester. This reduced weight more significantly than using only aluminum

/ Kirill Tishchenko / for Vedomosti

The image of a gifted all-round artist takes a slight crack when you move into the back seat of the CT6. From here the sedan seems simpler: there are noises from the arches and shaking on bumps, the body sways slightly over the wheels. Maybe it’s just the “degreasing” of the body, which made the car not only light, but also a little lightweight? But part of the sofa can be tilted back (your knees go up) and you can play a movie on the 10-inch display that extends out from the back of the front seat. And at the same time, envy the front passengers - their display with the same diagonal reacts to touches and produces a smoother, glossier picture.

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The driver can start another “movie” by pressing the switch on the interior mirror: it turns into a screen where the image from the rear view camera is displayed. The picture on the “video mirror” is too “cinema-like”, contrasting - it seems that the cars on it will now start colliding and exploding, depicting a Hollywood chase. Moreover, the CT6 is ready to shoot a movie itself: its cameras can work as video recorders, automatically turning on in the event of an accident or an attempt to enter the cabin. From this mosaic of technology comes the strange character of the car, similar to a Los Angeles resident - a cinephile who seeks perfection on the screen and dreams of working in a dream factory.

I'm going to the airport in a sedan with the most powerful engine - 3 liters, twin-turbo and 404 hp. With. It effortlessly catapults five passengers with luggage into the voids of traffic, beautifully roaring with its engine, like that lion from the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer screensaver. And I continue to peer at the surrounding cars. Oh, where are you, Chloe? For a couple of days in Los Angeles, I did not see not only her, but not a single Mercedes-Benz GLE. I wasn't lucky, but for the Cadillac CT6, the world's most cinematic car, that's probably a good sign.

Specifications Cadillac CT6*
2.0L Turbo 3.0L V6 Twin Turbo Body type, number of doors, seats Length/width/height/wheelbase, mm Engine type, number of cylinders, location Engine volume, cu.m. cm Power, l. s./about. per minute Maximum torque, Nm/rev. per minute Gearbox Drive Curb weight, kg Gross permissible weight, kg Maximum speed, km/h Acceleration to 100 km/h, s Fuel consumption in the combined cycle, l/100 km Trunk volume, l Ground clearance, mm Fuel tank volume, l Fuel Cost US models, $

sedan, 4/5
5184/ 1880/ 1471/ 3109
petrol I4 with turbocharging, longitudinally in front	petrol V6 with turbocharging, longitudinally in front
1998	2990
265/ 5500	404/ 5700
295/ 3000-4500	400/ 2500-5100
8-speed automatic
rear	plug-in full
1654	1989
2164	2456
n/a	n/a
n/a	n/a
n/a	n/a
433	433
n/a	n/a
73	73
gasoline Ai-95
of 53,495	of 64,395

*Manufacturer's data