Cadillac is a marquee brand owned by General Motors. General Motors controls a large share in the American Automotive industry. Based in Detroit, Michigan, GM is responsible for producing cars and trucks including GT cars to over 37 countries. Among the brands that are controlled by General Motors include Chevrolet, Buick, Opel, Holden, and Cadillac.
Cadillac is one of the most popular cars in the US. In fact, it has catered to people who loved to use large vehicles. From 2003 to 2011 garnering 15,460 units sold, one of the most commercially successful models made by Cadillac was the Cadillac XLR. In production from 2003-2009, the Cadillac XLR is a roadster intended to expand the brand. If you take a closer look at the similarity between the Chevrolet Corvette C5 and C6, you may see a lot of similarities with them.
It was built to become the flagship sports car of Cadillac based on the Chevrolet Corvette’s Y-shaped body. Since Cadillac was a branch of General Motors and they are also the one responsible for the Y body design, Cadillac implemented this blueprint to the XLR.
In 2003, the Cadillac XLR was introduced at the 2003 Detroit Motor Show. The engine of the Cadillac XLR is a 320 horsepower, 4.6L Northstar. In recent years, the XLR was the second roadster that was released by Cadillac after the Cadillac Allante during the 1980s to the early 90s. In 2004, the XLR was nominated for North American Car of the Year.
Variants
There are changes that happened with the Cadillac XLR. The high-performance version of the Cadillac XLR happened to be the XLR-V. Introduced in 2005, the XLR-V was first introduced during the Super Bowl of 2005. It was later on introduced formally in the 2005 NY International Auto Show. The same engine is used by the XLR-V by the output has been decreased. In terms of performance, the XLR-V can accelerate from 0-100 kilometers per hour in just 4.6 seconds.
The vehicle can run a quarter-mile in just 13.0 seconds. As for the speed limit of the Cadillac XLR variant, it can reach a speed limit of 249 kilometers per hour. Priced at $98,000 in 2006, the XLR-V even hiked up its price to $101,300 by 2008. This made the Cadillac XLR model one of the most expensive GM cars to date.
2009 Model
There are some changes that were applied to the Cadillac XLR in the 2009 model. Fender vents and a new interior that featured a suedelike material were added for its headliner. Among instruments added for the interior, it included different graphics as well as new dashboards that breathe a classy look for the Cadillac XLR.
Given the short fast pace world today, There are a lot of changes that car manufacturers should do with their vehicles. Thanks to the effort of engineers, the first version of a GT car can still be surpassed, and problems can be decreased.
GT cars like Cadillac XLR are an example of such an ever-changing climate in the car industry. Though it didn’t run for a decade, it has captured the attention of many car enthusiasts.