The Cadillac ATS has been touted by GM has a legitimate contender to the sporty BMW 3-series luxury sedan, and it certainly has the moxie to stand toe-to-toe with the Bavarian bruiser. But while the top-of-the-line 3.6 liter V6 engine offers an ample 321 horsepower, real speed enthusiasts have been waiting for one specific version of the smaller Caddy; the ATS-V.
Rumor has it that the ATS-V will hit the car show circuit soon and, according to Car & Driver, it will boast the recently-announced 3.6 liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine that debuted in the all-new 2014 Cadillac CTS.
The new twin-turbo V6 engine is rated at an impressive 420 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque, replacing what normally would be a naturally-aspirated V8 engine in the ATS. Cadillac’s engineers designed the ATS to be as light as possible, and with almost an extra 100 horsepower on top (and all that torque!) the ATS-V should be no lightweight when it comes to performance.
Even better, the 3.6 liter twin-turbo V6 will come mated to a six-speed manual transmission, a missing option on the normally-aspirated V6 ATS. What’s more, this leaves open the possibility that the ATS’s bigger brother, the CTS, may still be in line for a supercharged V8 engine for its own V-variant.
The launch date of the ATS-V isn’t settled yet, and Cadillac has a lot of new products (including a redesigned Escalade) ready to roll out. But a 420-horsepower BMW beater is well worth waiting for.
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