Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedans/Saloons, Cadillac
Another CTS rendering sheds light on entry-level Caddy

Not long now until the new CTS arrives, but people are impatient, and impatience apparently leads to hours of photo manipulation. Chris Pauwels, who is a graduate of The College for Creative Studies in Detroit and whose work has been featured in such mags as Popular Hot Rodding, has set digital pen to virtual screen to come up with his best guess at what the next CTS will look like when it arrives in the near future.
Comparing Pauwel's rendering to the recent Hans Lehmann rendering featured over at The Car Connection shows little difference between the two, except for a couple notable ones. Pauwel added side vents at the leading edge of the A-pillar similar to the ones that appear on the new Cadillac Escalade, an element that TheGMSource says will be standard on every rear-wheel drive Cadillac. The side vents also anchor a strong character line that runs the length of the car below the window line. While a small touch, it does add a bit of crispness to the design that prior renderings seem to lack.
TheGMSource also reports the new CTS will be as wide as the current STS, though not as long. One confirmed engine is GM's new direct inject 3.6L V6, and enthusiasts are speculating the next CTS-v will be 500-hp strong thanks to the Corvette Z06's 7.0L V8.
[Source: The GM Source]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Parallax 10:33AM (7/13/2006)
There's another difference. In line with Audi's new(ish) style with the grill "frame" area going down the front cowling, it appears the artist made the frame more distinct, completing the frame from top to bottom. Looks good though.
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julian 10:50AM (7/13/2006)
love this idea better than the previous cts rendering
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DJA 11:51AM (7/13/2006)
Cadillacs just keeps getting better. Who would have imagined the enthusiast buzz around their cars after so many years of marshmellow floats. Too bad the evolution hasn't been nearly so effective in the other GM brands.
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Hutt 12:02PM (7/13/2006)
I would give the fenders a more pronounced flare. Looks good though. I hope the production version looks like this.
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pd 12:30PM (7/13/2006)
Caddy is definately on a roll,one division at a time there might be light at the end of the tunnel.
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Tool 12:47PM (7/13/2006)
Nice work Chris!
This guy is still on college . . . can you beleive that?
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the chad 1:25PM (7/13/2006)
Looks great, I like this one a lot better than the last rendering. I hope the production does actually look a lot like this one.
Seriously, go check out his website, http://www.chrispauwels.com/ he's got a lot of great looking designs, they need to get him on GM's staff quick. I especially like the Malibu design he has and the Chevelle and Sky designs.
Great work Chris!
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PJ 3:02PM (7/13/2006)
Now, that's more like it. Compared to the renderings posted the other day, I also imagine this is much closer to the actual production CTS.
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cowboy bob 3:04PM (7/13/2006)
Well, another home for the LS-2/6 engine. Pretty soon everything GM has to offer will have the same powerplant. Same undercarriage, same motors, same transmissions, just different prices. Why build the new Camaro?
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Ben T. 4:02PM (7/13/2006)
Those rims are an exact copy of Lincoln's MKS wheels. Check it out: http://www.autoblog.com/2006/01/09/lincoln-mks-specs-and-pics/
The MKS has "five main spokes and five offset spokes in contrasting polished and vapor-blasted alloy." Sounds very similar...
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BOB 4:26PM (7/13/2006)
This is really a NEW CTS?? Looks like a pleasant freshening in the rendering. If it is wider, cool, as the car looks "silly narrow" from the rear now.
BUT BUT BUT -- why does a Cadillac borrow a grille surround from Audi, and a vent from Land Rover?
Cadillar is supposed to START trends! When they borrowed in the 50's, it was from Italian dream cars, not stuff that is all over the road. (Or maybe that is because in Michigan, those other vehicles are not covering the streets, they way they do here, close to Beverly Hills, so the Yahoos think they are getting away with it.)
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Hung2 6:01PM (7/13/2006)
This is SOOOOOOOOOOO much better looking than the present gen car. Nice execution!
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Lithous 6:50PM (7/13/2006)
I didn't realize in the last rendering that the guy went straight to the 60 minutes video for the headlights and taillights. BUT, the proportions were definitely off.
Maybe the 60 minutes video has V-Series changes and the checkered spy shots are the regular version because the headlights are definitely not the same in the video as in the spy shots.
Looking at the video I think the front end is much more steroided than the first rendering and the headlights, though Fusion looking in that rendering, look really interesting in the 60 minutes video.
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AMcA 7:44PM (7/13/2006)
Naw, it's all wrong. But nice work anyway.
Just pray that one prediction doesn't come true: Car Connection reports the V will have a blown Northstar. Please, no. Too expensive. Too fancy. Don't mess up the greatest bad-boy sedan on the market.
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Bob Zeliff 10:03PM (7/13/2006)
Love the old and the new exterior...Keep it up Cadi.
What does the new interior look like??...that is what was weak before. I hope there is a world class 6 speed auto with paddle/manual shift option. Either LS2 or Supercharge Norhtstar is ok with me for the Z. The LS 6 is sweet..docile and rips...more can only be better.
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blurger293 12:14AM (7/14/2006)
I don't understand these amateur renderings. It's just some dude guessing at how the car might look. So basically it's completely random, arbitrary, and meaningless.
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Chris Pauwels 9:47AM (7/14/2006)
I assure you that this illustration is anything but arbitrary and meaningless. I'm sure that there are few things that may be a little different on the production car but this is as close as we will get until the car debuts.
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djbango 11:10AM (10/01/2006)
9. Well, another home for the LS-2/6 engine. Pretty soon everything GM has to offer will have the same powerplant. Same undercarriage, same motors, same transmissions, just different prices. Why build the new Camaro?
Nissan has been doing that for years with the VQ engine
Maxima
Altima
350Z
G35
Pathfinder
Murano
FX35
M35
if it's a great engine, who cars
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Leo 10:24AM (10/02/2006)
this CTS is a looker. i hope it is close to the real thing.
man, GM is on an upwards trend and I hope they keep it going so that I can switch back to GM. I might even pick this over the G35 if price is at the G35 level and not the 3-series level. I'd be willing to give up the better perfomrnace of the G35 (as I expect it to be better than the CTS's)
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