ULC Previews Cadillac's Rival to the Mini

With customers increasingly seeking higher mileage cars, there are big profits to be made from luxury minis such as the Citroen DS3 and Mini Cooper. What traditional American brands, like Cadillac, really need, given the current economic conditions, is a city car with bold features and a lot of luxury equipment.

In a recent interview given to Autocar magazine, British designer Niki Smart said the Urban Luxury Concept (ULC for short) previews Caddy’s answer to the Mini. Smart was the one who provided the creative drive behind the ULC, who’s wedge-like shape and scissor doors impressed visitors of the Los Angeles show.

Niki Smart also famously played an important role in the creation of the Ariel Atom. Working for GM’s design studios in LA, he created the ULC’s unique features to be mass produced: “The doors make a graceful way of getting in the back and we have found a way of engineering them for production.”

The small city car is a clear departure from tradition for Cadillac, who is best known for making more traditional saloons with big engines under long bonnets. “The time is ripe for Cadillac to make this car. We need a bigger spread of models, particularly for Europe. The Mini’s success is proof of people’s open-mindedness,” said Smart.

However, the fact that Cadillac has never built a supermini means the design team can focus on creating a brand new car, not having to follow the lines of previous generation models. Comparable in size to popular city cars found in Europe and Asia, the Urban Luxury Concept demonstrates a departure from conventional vehicle design. The real-life incarnation of the concept promises to seat four people and offer good fuel consumption figures.