The 2016 Cadillac ATS-V Gets its Official Unveiling

2016 Cadillac ATS-V Coupe (Credit: © Cadillac)

After a huge leak let the cat out of the bag early, Cadillac remained strong on its plan not the reveal the ATS-V ahead of schedule. This meant that we were all stuck waiting until the evening of November 18th to get the official word on the insanely powerful coupe and sedan. And let me tell you that it was well worth the wait, as all the juicy details make the ATS-V infinitely more awesome than the leaked information originally did.

Let’s not mess around, and we’ll hop right into the parts that matter most: the go-go bits. We already know that a 3.6-liter, twin-boosted V-6 lays under the hood, but Cadillac announced that it’ll put down an estimated 455 ponies and 445 pound-feet of twist. Feeding this engine are a pair of titanium-turbine turbos that dump up to 18 pounds of boost into the V-6 powerplant. Vacuum-actuated wategates — one for each blower — keep the power delivery silky smooth. A set of recirculation valves, which are also vacuum-actuated, help eliminate built-up pressure in the turbo system when the throttle plate closes from interfering with the smooth power delivery. Being recirc valves, you unfortunately do not get that awesome whooshing sound that a blow-off valve emits, but they reuse the pressurized air more effectively than a blow-off valve.

2016 Cadillac ATS-V Sedan (Credit: © Cadillac)

Transferring the power to the rear wheels is a standard six-speed Tremec TR6060 manual gearbox. The bones of this transmission are pretty much standard fare in GM’s performance vehicles, but in the ATS-V it gets a few updates. Active Rev Match helps by blipping the throttle between shifts for seamless shifting; no lift shifting lets you keep the accelerator buried in the carpet when shifting; and launch control allows you to get perfect launches every single time. Optionally, buyers can go for a paddle-shifted, eight-speed auto transmission with dual-clutch-like shift quickness.

All of the drivetrain bits come together to deliver a 0-to-60-mph sprint time of just 3.9 seconds and a top speed in excess of 185 mph.

The ATS-V isn’t all about straight-line speed and nothing else, as Cadillac spent tons of time refining the chassis to make it 25-percent stiffer than its non-V counterpart. Helping achieve this rigidity is an exclusive shock- tower-to-plenum brace, a strengthened rocker bulkhead, stronger cradle-to-rocker braces, and V-braces in the engine compartment.

Inside the cabin, the driver is surrounded by a melting pot of performance and luxury. The Recaro performance seats have 16-way adjustments and come wrapped in Mulan leather with sueded microfiber inserts, while the rest of the cabin is slathered in hand-cut and sewn materials, and carbon fiber. Of course, you get the typical Caddy tech features, like Cue with Bluetooth connectivity, text-to-voice, OnStar 4G LTE with a built-in Wi-Fi hotspot, and a 5.7-inch instrument panel display.

There is no mention of pricing, but the ATS-V will begin rolling off of the production line in the spring of 2015.