Mike Musto is hard at work attending the Los Angeles Auto Show this week, and he sent these cell phone pics of Cadillac’s latest concept vehicle. Called the “Cadillac Urban Luxury Concept”, the design study is meant to represent Cadillac’s interpretation of an urban commuter car, similar to the Smart or the Audi A1. Like the Smart, the Urban Luxury Concept is small on the outside (for easy parking and commuting in rush hour traffic) but roomy on the inside; unlike the Smart, the Cadillac concept is focused on luxury.
The car seats four passengers, who enter and exit the vehicle through a pair of scissoring doors. Once inside, passengers are treated to leather seating and touch screen controllers for the climate and audio systems. Power comes from a turbocharged three cylinder engine (remember, this is a microcar) with electric assist and start-stop functionality. Cadillac didn’t publish horsepower or acceleration data, but they do claim fuel economy of 56 MPG in the city and 65 MPG on the highway.
The concept is, by far, the smallest Cadillac ever penned. The wheelbase is a diminutive 97.1 inches, and the overall length of the car is just 151 inches. That’s over three feet shorter than the Cadillac CTS, which is currently Cadillac’s smallest offering (at least until the ATS is launched). The luxury manufacturer sees this as an opportunity to shift Cadillac’s conservative image to one that’s a bit more edgy and progressive. Don Butler, Cadillac’s VP of Marketing, sums it up like this:
“While small in size, this concept is an exploration of what Cadillac could be in the future, as the brand continues to focus on redefining industry standards for advanced vehicle design and integrated technology,”
I say build it, as cars like the Urban Luxury Concept will be necessary to meet future CAFE targets. At 65 MPG, the Urban Luxury Concept will go a long way towards offsetting the fuel economy of the CTS-V, ensuring that the sport sedan doesn’t go the way of the dinosaur.