The Cadillac XLR is a 2-door roadster from Cadillac, built from 2003 to 2009, in the decade of stability control, dual-clutch gearboxes and the first serious hybrids. Under the bonnet: 4.6 . Tom Peters (prod. exterior: 1999, 2000) / Kip Wasenko (Evoq Concept: 1998; chief designer of prod: 2000) / Wayne Cherry (design director) drew it.
The background
The Cadillac XLR is a convertible car manufactured and marketed by Cadillac from 2003 to 2009 across a single generation. It is a two-seat roadster and has a power retractable hardtop. The XLR was introduced at the 2003 North American International Auto Show as a halo model for Cadillac, and began production for the 2004 model year. The design was inspired by the 1999 Evoq concept.
The XLR shares much of its construction design with the C6 Chevrolet Corvette that was introduced one year later, including its GM Y platform, hydroformed steel perimeter side rails, folded steel backbone, tubular steel front and rear bulkheads, aluminum windshield structure, magnesium steering-column mounts, aluminum/balsawood composite floorboards and composite bodywork technology. Unique to the XLR are its engine, bodywork, interior, suspension settings, and power retractable hardtop. Both the XLR and C6 Corvette were manufactured at General Motors' Bowling Green Assembly, with the XLR manufactured at a dedicated work station adjacent to the Corvette assembly line, engineered to facilitate routing of componentry to the XLR's dedicated assembly station. The XLR entered production a year before the Chevrolet, as the first production Cadillac with radar-based adaptive cruise control (ACC) or both heated and cooled seats — was subsequently nominated for the North American Car of the Year award for 2004. It has Bulgari-designed interior instruments, head-up display, adaptive suspension, rear-mounted transmission and near 50/50 front-to-rear weight distribution.
The engineering
Power comes from 4.6 other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. It weighs 3840 lb. It shifts through a 5-speed GM 5L40-E transmission#5L50 / 5L50 automatic / 6-speed GM 6L80 transmission / 6L80 automatic. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 105.7 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Where it sits
Its family tree is legible: it took over from the Cadillac Allanté; assembly was at Bowling Green, Kentucky (Bowling Green Assembly Plant), United States. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Mazda Mazda3, the Mazda RX-8, the Bentley Continental GT — show what else the money bought that year. Its Cadillac stablemates include the Cadillac 353 and the Cadillac ATS.