Cadillac Urban Luxury Concept under the spotlight in LA

Cadillac has unveiled a new design at the Los Angeles Auto Show. This concept car is exploring a new kind of vehicle were luxury can be found in a small size car. The Urban Luxury Concept complements its compact dimensions with the design, features and technology that are part of Cadillac’s tradition.

“The Cadillac Urban Luxury Concept celebrates its scale with intelligent, innovative content that makes it unique regardless of its size,” said Clay Dean, Director of GM North American Advanced Design and Cadillac Brand Champion. “It has a small exterior footprint, but is roomy inside.”

The design study has been developed in the Los Angeles area, where citizens have trouble with tight, confined parking areas for apartments, office buildings and even suburban homes. The Urban Luxury Concept transforms Cadillac’s iconic design elements in a way that these needs of metropolitan motorists are answered.

In terms of size the Urban Luxury Concept can be compared to the small-sized popular city cars found in Paris, Shanghai and London, but then it steps away from conventional vehicle design. The design study offers seats for four people and easy access to all of them through a pair of scissor-type doors that extend outward and rotate forward when opened.

“This is a new vision in vehicle design that was created to answer the needs of city dwellers,” said Frank Saucedo, lead designer. “The door design is purposeful and technologically advanced, which is the essence of how we’re taking Cadillac into the future.”

Inside the Urban Luxury Concept offers a roomy passenger area, which is trimmed in exquisite materials and features next-generation interactive technology. Most of the traditional gauges and serve as the audio and climate system controls have been substituted by touch-pad screens and projected readouts.

“There is no minimum size for a Cadillac driving experience. The Urban Luxury Concept’s interior reflects the ‘smaller is better’ aesthetic that permeates the world of technology,” said Saucedo. “And while this design philosophy reflects what’s going on in the world around us, it also has a more practical use when it comes to the Urban Luxury Concept: It creates more interior space.”

“While small in size, this concept is an exploration of what Cadillac could be in the future, as the brand continues to focus on redefining industry standards for advanced vehicle design and integrated technology,” said Don Butler, vice president for Cadillac marketing.

For this concept car engineers at Cadillac have developed a concept hybrid propulsion system. The Urban Luxury Concept is powered by a turbocharged 1.0L three-cylinder engine, which employs electric assist technology, engine start-stop function, brake energy regeneration and a dry dual-clutch transmission.