The Cadillac Cien is a 2-door coupé from Cadillac, built from 2002, in the decade of stability control, dual-clutch gearboxes and the first serious hybrids. Under the bonnet: 7.5 L Northstar XV12. Simon Cox drew it.
The background
The Cadillac Cien is a 2-door rear mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive concept car created by Cadillac, designed by Simon Cox, and unveiled at the 2002 Detroit Auto Show to celebrate Cadillac's 100th anniversary ("cien" is Spanish for one hundred, which compares the Buick Centieme).
The engineering
Power comes from 7.5 L Northstar XV12. It weighs 3,307 lb. It shifts through a 6-speed automated manual with electronic paddle-shift. The layout matters: the engine sits behind the driver and ahead of the rear axle, which puts the mass in the middle of the car and is why mid-engined cars change direction the way they do. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Where it sits
Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Kia Sorento, the Porsche Cayenne, the Citroën C3 — show what else the money bought that year. Its Cadillac stablemates include the Cadillac 353 and the Cadillac ATS.