Cadillac XTS Platinum Concept Pictures and Details

Last week we showed you a concept car by BMW that has a great chance of being produced within the current decade. Well, this weeks concept is going to be made by 2012—how’s that for instant gratification? And we’re actually kind of stoked about it. You see, Cadillac is supposed to be one of America’s premier luxury brands. One of the nameplates that go head-to-head with the European and Japanese big dogs. And as of now, they’re doing a pretty good job. We love the CTS and we just hopped in their redesigned SRX crossover and that’s dope, too. But you can’t compete with the bosses without a top of the line luxury sedan. They did away with their DTS and STS models, leaving the CTS to hold down the fort all by its lonesome. However, at the 2010 North American Autoshow, we saw the car that will take the place of both the DTS and STS: the Cadillac XTS. It looks the part, but is it really the answer? Read on to find out…

EXTERIOR: The XTS Platinum, when produced, will hold court atop Cadillac’s sedan range. Besides the Escalade, it will be the head honcho. The car high-salaried thieves executives will opt for. That’s why it embodies a look of big boy opulence. It’s a couple inches shorter than the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and a couple inches longer than the BMW 7 Series—it’s two main competitors. It keeps up with Cadillac’s current design language, but massages it a little, makes it grow up and put on a proper outfit before going out. You can almost look at it and tell where the CTS sedan will be in a couple years. Kind of like when you look at Beyonce and her mom standing next to each other. Caddy says it “transcends the traditional aesthetic of luxury sedans and carries the brand’s Art and Science design in a more progressive manner.” We can’t tell if they’re talking about the whole car, or just the headlamps. We can’t tell how it’ll look on the road, but all-in-all, it seems like they have built a real stunner.
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INTERIOR: Cadillacs are luxury cars. The luxury car of the United States. With their newest models, they seem to want to retain that title by kicking the quality of their interiors up a notch. The CTS and SRX, with their nice woods and supple leathers and, how did we almost forget, their rising LCD screens, sport some of the best interiors we’ve seen. And the XTS carries that on. Again, it looks like Cadillac didn’t go too wild with the design, as most car makers do with their concepts—maybe it’s because they actually plan on making this one?—they kept it realistic, showing a slightly futuristic version of the cabin they already produce. There are organic light-emitting diode display (O-LED) screens in place of the gauges and that rise from the backs of the front seats to provide rear seat entertainment; the center console sloping downward towards the shifter and the elegant but technical steering wheel. Of course, we can’t tell if its Audi or Mercedes comfortable until we get some time in it by ourselves but it sure looks it.

Cadillac XTS Platinum Concept

Initially revealed at the Detroit Show last year, this flagship sedan, the Cadillac XTS Platinum, is a conventional hybrid vehicle powered by a 3.6-liter V-6 and an electric drive motor, both of which can be used to propel the car. The car can achieve a total output of 350 horsepower and 295 pounds-feet of torque. The wheelbase is 115 inches, length 203.5 inches and width 74.8 inches.

The design is more mature than the CTS sedan and suitably adapted for a full size luxury car. The chassis is 1.5 inches taller than the older sedans. The car is also armed with a smooth all-wheel drive. On the looks side of things, the car has a powerful presence, with blue-tinted LED headlights flanking the large grille. The interior has a customizable LED screen display that blends well with the wood and earth tones as well as the piano-black finishing. The cabin materials are handcrafted, the backseats have two displays for passenger entertainment and connectivity features.

As of now, the car allows pure electric drive only at speeds below 40 mph. Increased electric power blending can be provided at higher accelerations or at higher speeds. The battery pack can be recharged in five hours. Cadillac scores higher in the aspects of length, height and engine capacity than its rival Mercedes S400 Hybrid. Cadillac’s General Manager Bryan Nesbitt has explained that Cadillac wants the XTS Platinum to be a “personal headquarters.”