gm spy pics 001 cadillac
gm spy pics 002 cadillac
gm spy pics 006 cadillac
gm spy pics 00y cadillac
gm spy pics 009 cadillac
Bruce Newton20 Feb 2017
NEWS

SPY PICS: GM caught testing Cadillacs in Australia

Cadillac ATS-V, XTS and CT6 plus GMC Canyon and Chev Colorado ZR2 spotted in major Holden powertrain program

A motoring.com.au reader has spied at least six Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC vehicles undergoing development testing in the NSW high country last week.

But before you get excited about the prospect of General Motors attempting to launch its luxury Cadillac brand in Australia – again – we've learned the vehicles were all taking part in a powertrain development drive being run by Holden engineers as part of their global responsibilities.

Our spy took these photographs in Jindabyne in the NSW alps, where the testing team had pulled up for the night.

As you can see from our exclusive photographs, the line-up included a Cadillac ATS-V compact sports sedan, an XTS large sedan and at least two CT6 limousines.

Also along for the ride were a US-spec Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 off-road oriented pick-up, a GMC Canyon ute and even a HSV ClubSport.

Every vehicle – bar the HSV of course – was left-hand drive as well as registered to GM Holden.

The vehicles were accompanied by a substantial crew of about 10-12 Holden and GM engineering staff, some of whom -- our snout reported -- spoke with American, British and German accents.

The test is an ongoing part of Holden’s powertrain development work that has been ramping back-up locally since GM reversed a decision to wind down that capacity in 2015.

Late last year Holden announced a $9 million investment in its emissions centre located at the Lang Lang test track in Victoria.

“As part of GM’s global work share initiative, Holden is undertaking powertrain calibration work on a number of vehicles, including those spotted by your contact,” GM spokesman Mark Flintoft told motoring.com.au.

“On top of the $9m investment in Lang Lang proving ground emissions lab facility, this is just another example of some of the important engineering work Holden continues to do.

“As you know, we’ve been testing various global cars at the proving ground and on nearby public roads for the last few years and expect to continue to do this well beyond 2017.”

Most of the vehicles on test were powered by derivatives and developments of the High Feature V6 (HFV6) engine that has been around since 2004 -- including in locally-built Commodores -- emphasising local expertise in calibrating that powertrain architecture.

The ATS-V sedan captured here is powered by a 3.6-litre twin-turbocharged petrol engine, as is the XTS V-Sport. The white CT6 in our spy photographs is powered by a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6. Both the ZR2 and Canyon have the option of a 3.6-litre naturally-aspirated V6.

As for buying into the theory that this phalanx of Cadillacs indicates local interest in getting Cadillac on sale in Australia, Flintoft was dismissive.

“There’s nothing to announce,” he said.

And why was the HSV there? Most likely for powertrain calibration work as well, even as the final MY17 HSV models go on sale. It is normal for a powertrain road trip to be an all-in affair with the engineers working together across numerous job lots, rather than heading off on smaller and ultimately more expensive individual trips.

Certainly, as motoring.com.au understands it, the presence of the HSV with all these Caddies does not signal an interest from Holden’s local tuning partner to retail the luxury brand here.

Cadillac almost made it on sale in Australia in 2009, only to be killed off at the last minute by the Global Financial Crisis. Instead, 89 right-hand drive CTS mid-size sedans were shipped to a New Zealand Holden dealer for sale.

Since then, Cadillac’s forecasts for another crack at right-hand drive markets including Australia have consistently blown out and estimates have tipped over well into next decade.

Share this article
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalistsMeet the team
Stay up to dateBecome a carsales member and get the latest news, reviews and advice straight to your inbox.
Download the carsales app
    AppStoreDownloadGooglePlayDownload
    App Store and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.
    © CAR Group Ltd 1999-2024
    In the spirit of reconciliation we acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.