The Cadillac adventure, snappily entitled “Crossing Horizons” began on Nov. 26 at the famed Nurburgring circuit in Germany where the team of six took two 2013 Cadillac ATS sedans and plans to drive through 12 countries in a 10,591 km journey to the to the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi — home of the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix — on Dec. 21.
The European leg of the expedition stopped in Instanbul, with the ATS then set to tackle the demanding desert roads of the Gulf.
Arriving to the largest GM dealership in the Middle East, Al Jomaih Automotive Company, the Soul dealer of Cadillac in Saudi Arabia, David Matta, premium brands director at AAC, welcomed the arrival of the ATS team into its Showroom in Khorais with fanfare witnessed by Cadillac’s customers.
Matta, said: "There is a strong focus on sports performance - yet with a very high degree of luxury. The ATS is capable on both the street and the track, offers a well-made and attractive interior, and is replete with the latest technologies such as the CUE that features several auto industries first, including capacitive-touch control with proximity sensing, gesture recognition and natural voice recognition, which is only found in Cadillac cars, The new Cadillac ATS will be launched in the kingdom in the early 2013, but we are so proud to give our clients the chance to have a look on the new Cadillac model even before launching it in the Middle East.
The legendary launch in style by 2013 Cadillac ATS is further illustrated by winning the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) award for both rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive variants with five stars in rollover, side impact, frontal offset and overall crash testing, based on its latest (and more stringent) evaluation criteria.
Moreover, the unusually lightweight rear-wheel-drive architecture of 2013 Cadillac is able to milk the best in both fuel efficiency and performance from its engine lineup (a normally-aspirated four-cylinder or V-6 and a turbocharged four-cylinder), making it at once pampering, heart-pumping and relatively pump-shy. Its 3.6-liter V6 responds immediately to the right foot, accelerating briskly to 100 km/h in 6.3 seconds accompanied by a subdued growl. More importantly, it can decelerate from 100km/h to zero in just 38.8 meters, thanks to its performance- inspired four-wheel, power-assisted, vented disc brakes (with Brembo front calipers), ABS, brake assist and dynamic rear brake proportioning.
The AWD system operates invisibly, transferring power to the wheels with grip as necessary but you can adjust the driving Mode. A button behind the gearshift lets you choose Touring, Sport or Snow/Ice. Touring is for normal conditions and optimum fuel efficiency; Sport spices things up with quicker accelerator response, higher shift points and tighter steering, while Snow/Ice starts you in Second gear to avoid unnecessary slippage. Other dynamic assists include Stabilitrak (Electronic Stability Control System) and Traction Control that work in unison to limit understeer (when the front drifts wide) and oversteer (when the rear drifts wide). The result is a stable and sure-footed line even when pushed hard through the corners.
The ATS is available in RWD or AWD (except the 2.5L) with a choice of three engines and three transmissions. The base engine is a 202 horsepower, 2.5-liter four- cylinder mated to a 6-speed automatic with manual mode.
Second up is a very eager 2.0-liter Turbocharged four-cylinder putting out a robust 272 horsepower, while a 321 horsepower, 3.6-liter V6 tops out the line. Three trim levels, luxury, performance and premium offer different packages of convenience and comfort.
