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2015 Cadillac ATS-V Coupe Spied Near the Nurburgring Nordschleife

With Audi's quattro, BMW's M and the AMG division from Mercedes-Benz around, the 2015 Cadillac ATS-V has some pretty tough competition coming its way all the way from Europe. However, the all-new two-door version of the ATS-V might have something up its sleeve to keep things in check with its European rivals.
2015 Cadillac ATS-V Coupe Spied Near the Nurburgring Nordschleife 8 photos
Photo: SB-Medien
2015 Cadillac ATS-V Coupe Spied Near the Nurburgring Nordschleife2015 Cadillac ATS-V Coupe Spied Near the Nurburgring Nordschleife2015 Cadillac ATS-V Coupe Spied Near the Nurburgring Nordschleife2015 Cadillac ATS-V Coupe Spied Near the Nurburgring Nordschleife2015 Cadillac ATS-V Coupe Spied Near the Nurburgring Nordschleife2015 Cadillac ATS-V Coupe Spied Near the Nurburgring Nordschleife2015 Cadillac ATS-V Coupe Spied Near the Nurburgring Nordschleife
We've first seen the 2015 Cadillac ATS-V Coupe undergoing high altitude testing on mountainy roads some two months ago, but Caddy has finished initial testing phase and moved the next level. Specifically, our spy photographers spotted the upcoming compact executive performance coupe very close to the Ring, which translates to handling and other fine-tuning jobs.

Our carparazzi told us that the Cadillac ATS in -V Coupe guise you can admire in the photo gallery below has been caught on film on a small computer setup run before the car takes on the Green Hell, so expect a new set of photos the following days. In case you were wondering, the current configuration of the German circuit measures 20.81 kilometers (12.93 miles) in length and features 154 daunting turns, so yeah, it's the prefect place to fine tune handling characteristics and benchmark the CTS-V Coupe against the M4, C63 AMG and the Audi RS4 B8.

If our eyes aren't playing games on us, you can clearly see big air intakes and lower suspension than the usual 2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe, as well as more flared wheel arches, dual exit exhausts on both sides of the rear bumper and some intercooler radiators up front, meaning that under the bonnet you'll find a twin-turbo mill.

Rumors suggest that a twin-turbo setup of the 3.6-liter V6 built by General Motors will be filling the engine bay of the brawny two-door bruiser. If that's so, we expect that engineers will squeeze at least 430 horsepower and a maximum of 450 ponies from the aforementioned mill, which is enough to equal the BMW M4's 431 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque. But all that oomph must be put down to the wheels in a fast and efficient manner, so we keep our fingers crossed that the 8L90 eight-speed automatic tranny introduced on the 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 will be coupled to the six-cylinder turbo powerplant.

Expected to offer full-throttle upshifts "up to eight-hundredths of a second quicker than those of the dual-clutch transmission offered in the Porsche 911," this unit might make the difference against the CTS-V's European competitors in a straight line. Handling wise, we can tell you that a specially calibrated ZF Lenksysteme electric power steering system and Brembo brakes are on the menu. The 2015 Cadillac ATS-V Coupe will be launched in late 2014 - early 2015, holding an estimated sticker price of at least $55,000 for the most basic model.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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