Specifications for the engine were not given and the story by Edmunds was neither confirmed nor denied by a GM representative the publication consulted.

The story as given is that the engine – developed with GM and its Chinese partners – is being proposed and use of a lighter design would be in keeping with GM’s general plans announced to decrease curb weight and decrease fuel consumption in Gvarious models over the next several years.

If the plan is accepted, the 2015 Volt would see the three-cylinder generator as part of its major refresh, referred to generally as the much-anticipated “Generation 2” Volt.

The 2014 Cadillac ELR’s powertrain, based largely on the Volt’s powertrain, has not even been launched yet, and the report for its new engine said it would see the three-cylinder specified the year following the Volt’s receiving it.

Presently the Volt makes use of an 84-horsepower 1.4-liter four-cylinder plus electric power rated at 149 horsepower (111 kw).

Last year another such rumor said to be from a reputable source said the Volt and ELR would get a 2.0-liter, but the specs on the ELR proved that false, as it uses the same 1.4-liter the Volt does.

This does not mean the new three-cylinder story is false, and GM may indeed be evaluating the proposal. If it meets its criteria, it is possible it will make its way to production, but at this point, it’s a case of wait and see.

Edmunds

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Engineers were winter weather chassis testing last week on pre-production ELR models in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, evaluating the car’s handling in winter weather conditions.

More than four inches of fresh snowfall during testing helped the team validate final specifications on the ELR’s steering, tires, anti-lock brakes, traction control, electronic stability control and Continuous Damping Control suspension. The later adjusts damping every two milliseconds to maintain optimal control over varying road conditions.

Combined with the HiPer Strut front suspension and watts link rear suspension, GM said the ELR is designed to provide owners with a sporty, yet confident handling character.

“Being able to test the ELR in extreme road conditions, like those we experienced here in the U.P., allows us to provide a ride-and-handling character unlike any EV on the market today,” said Chris Thomason, ELR chief engineer. “During this latest test, the ELR continued to perform beyond our expectations.”

The ELR, which won the Eyes on Design Award for best production vehicle at the Detroit auto show, is based on the Cadillac Converj Concept and on the Chevrolet Volt.

Cadillac said the ELR’s exterior establishes a new, progressive proportion for the brand.

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In his brief talk, Cadillac Exterior Design Manager, Tim Kozub highlights how the company tried to stay true to the 2009 Converj concept based on the Chevy Volt’s powertrain.

The Converj was a showstopper, and when GM announced it would produce the ELR, as is often the case, concerns were how close the production vehicle would be to the concept.

Former GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz with Cadillac Converj Concept.

Often times the neat-factor gets watered down due to practical or cost considerations between concept to assembly line, but for their part, GM’s people said they were shooting to keep it very close.

You can see the photo of the Converj in this post, and decide for yourself. The exterior of the ELR does very closely resemble the original Converj, and as Kozub says, it strikes an impressive posture in real life.

We’ve not heard an excessive amount of disappointment expressed over the ELR’s powertrain specs, but it does not appear poised to even out accelerate a Fisker Karma let alone an all-electric Model S, and should deliver performance fairly close to the Volt. While not slow, the posturing of the upscale Cadillac had suggested that some extra go ought to be added to match the overt show of high performance, replete with 20-inch wheels, and low-slung stance.

At any rate, Kozub offers his views from the design aspect, and we’ll likely be seeing more such promotional portrayals and info as the vehicle heads toward launch next year.

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With styling and interior appointments befitting the new sportier image of the brand, the ELR is very true to the 2009 Converj show car.

“ELR is an unprecedented combination of luxury, advanced engineering and progressive design in a coupe that is both sporty and environmentally friendly,” said Bob Ferguson, Cadillac global vice president. “This is a pivotal moment in Cadillac’s history, as we continue our product-driven expansion.”

The photos should speak volumes on that subject, but underneath the panache of what is expected to be a corporate tech halo, the vehicle’s spec sheet is close to the Volt’s.

All-electric range is estimated at 35 miles, and total range exceeds 300, says Cadillac.

Power comes via a traction motor backed up by a 1.4-liter generator and 16.5-kilowatt-hour T-shaped lithium-ion battery. GM has turned up system power over the Volt’s nominal outputs by a bit to yield 207-horsepower (154 kw) from the dual electric motor drive. Torque is rated at 295 pound-feet (400 Nm).

The ELR also weighs around 300 pounds more at 4070 pounds (1846 kg) so the extra power is there to compensate.

Recharge times are estimated at about 12 hours on house current (120 volts), and 4.5 hours using a level 2 charger (240 volts). Faster charging is not mentioned and is not being deemed necessary given anticipated usage patterns for a car like this. The purpose of the gas generator is to bypass the need to hurry up and charge.

Speaking of the gas generator, contrary to the rumor mill that had cooked up stories purportedly from those close to the ELR’s development that it would use a 2.0-liter generator, such is not the case.

The inline-4 DOHC is a carryover with cast iron block, aluminum heads, 10.5:1 compression ratio. It’s rated at 84 horsepower at a sedate 4,800 rpm. This is a low rpm comparatively speaking for a small four cylinder gas engine, but is all that’s needed as a genset. It should therefore see relatively easy duty and this should lend to a long life in theory. Like the Volt’s same unit, it requires premium gasoline.

That said, Tesla Model S and Fisker Karma owners will have no need to worry about losing a stoplight drag race to the Cadillac ELR unless they are caught slow off the line. Cadillac says the performance is to be announced, but – unless GM has a trick up its sleeve – the numbers do not add up to much better than possibly 0-60 times in the neighborhood of 8 seconds or so. We shall see on this question.

In all, the ELR is a stylized compact class car meant to showcase Voltec technology in a premium package. Among high-line features are light-emitting diode (LED) headlamps to go with the styling. Inside is Cadillac’s CUE infotainment system and plenty of cut-and-sew accented leather with sueded microfiber, chrome, wood and available carbon fiber finishes throughout.

Stylized alloy wheel sizes are a sporty 20 inch and all-season tires are low aspect ratio 40-series by 245 mm wide to complement the appearance of performance.

We’d expect also a smooth and controlled ride and handling with help from wide front and rear tracks – 62.1 inches (1,578 mm) in front and 62.4 inches (1,585 mm) in the rear – along with a long wheelbase (106.1 inches / 2,695 mm) and a low center of gravity

Up front, the suspension relies on GM’s HiPer Strut with continuously variable real-time damping and driver-selectable modes. Cadillac says it employs specially tuned coil springs with side load compensation, direct-acting hollow stabilizer bar, hydraulic ride bushings.

In the rear is a “specially adapted” torsion beam with Watts link. This, Cadillac says, has a double-walled, U-shaped profile at the rear; specifically tuned coil springs, hydraulic bushings; shocks with continuously variable real-time damping and driver-selectable modes.

Front brakes are 12.6 inches (321 mm) vented, and in back are 12-inch (292 mm) solid rotors.

The ELR will be built alongside the Volt at GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant, and will have a high level of domestic content including its battery pack assembled in Brownstown, Mich. and comprised of 288 LG Chem prismatic cells.

The battery carries the same warranty as the Volt at eight years/100,000 miles.

The ELR is also certified with AT-PZEV emissions to meet requirements for California’s single-occupancy access to high occupancy vehicle lanes.

Pricing and when it will be launched has not been announced. To date, this and the Volt are GM’s only announced commitment to car models utilizing its advanced plug-in Voltec extended-range electric technology.

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As many of you know, the ELR is an extended range type of electric vehicle and shares many components and its main architecture with the Chevrolet Volt.

This new Cadillac is to be revealed Jan. 15 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The picture shown and released by Cadillac itself was photographed driving through the mountains of Southern California during development testing.

The ELR is said to be very close look-wise to the numerous concept cars shown in the last few years by Cadillac.

“Cadillac customers are going to enjoy the unique features ELR will bring to the market. We’re going to change the way people think about luxury and electrification,” said Chris Thomason, ELR chief engineer.

In any case, let’s hope GM actually does reveal a good bit of the car’s design and engineering next week.

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In a little less than a month the world will get to see the first production Cadillac with an extended-range electric powertrain. General Motors announced yesterday it would take the wraps off the Cadillac ELR at the Detroit Auto Show on Jan. 15, 2013.

In October of this year the company confirmed that production for the ELR would start in late 2013 at the automaker’s Detroit-Hamtramck plant.

GM reiterated in a statement Tuesday that the ELR is the production version of the Cadillac Converj, a concept car first unveiled in 2009 at North American International Auto Show. The company said the ELR will build on Converj design themes, which likely means the new Cadillac’s appearance won’t stray far from the concept car’s sweeping lines.

The company hasn’t announced pricing for the ELR.

According to GM, the forthcoming ELR will advance design themes from the Converj concept car seen here.

For more than a year speculation and rumors about the ELR’s powertrain have been that the Cadillac will use an updated iteration of the Voltec extended-range electric powertrain used in the Chevy Volt – a sensible guess since the Volt is produced in the Detroit-Hamtramck facility.

Finer details about the ELR, like its all-electric range, and other performance parameters will probably remain unknown until next month – if not longer. GM did say yesterday the car’s electric propulsion system consists of a T-shaped lithium-ion battery, an electric drive unit, and a four-cylinder engine-generator, using electricity as the primary power source to drive the car without using gasoline.

And like the Volt, when the ELR’s battery has low power reserves, a gasoline-powered electric generator will switch on to allow additional miles. Chevy says the 2013 Volt is capable of 38 all-electric miles, a total range of 380 miles, and has a base price of $39,145.

If the new Cadillac’s powertrain has all-electric miles significantly increased from the Volt, it could, as the only large-scale production luxury car from a major U.S. automaker, turn heads of those mulling the notion of investing in a Tesla Model S or Fisker Karma.

Of the two cars, the extended-range electric Karma’s powertrain more closely resembles that of the GM product, and unless GM has a surprise up its sleeve, it may not outgun the Karma in acceleration, handling, braking – or even design detail – though of course this latter measure is entirely subjective, and beauty is in the eye of he beholder.

GM has said the Cadillac will share drivetrains with the to-be-updated Volt. The Karma has 403 horsepower, 959 pound-feet of torque, and does 0-60 in 5.9 seconds in gas-assisted sport mode, and 7.9 seconds in all-electric mode. Its braking, for a 5,300 pound car is phenomenal thanks to sticky Goodyear sport tires and 6-pot Brembo monobloc calipers up front and 4-piston ones out back pinching over 14-inch rotors. Motor Trend saw 60-0 stopping in 110 feet. Lateral acceleration averages 0.92g.

But then, General Motors has the engineering and much deeper pockets, and Fisker – headed now by former Volt line director Tony Posawatz – is still finding its way through the A123 bankruptcy and working to outlive a list of prior issues not least of which is being under-capitalized.

So, GM may deliver a beautiful product, but will it really be all around superior? And then, you have the all-electric competition from that other California startup which has managed to keep its reputation far cleaner, and has avoided product quality questions thus far also.

Tesla’s 40-kilowatt-hour battery version of the Model S has a range of 160 miles, and base MSRP of $57,400 before a $7,500 federal tax credit. The 85-kwh battery powered Model S, which Tesla says has a range of 300 miles – and easily tops 220 under normal to mixed driving – has a starting price of $77,400 before the tax credit. When fully loaded, the big Teslas can tip the fiscal scales approaching $120,000 out the door.

With GM’s volume production power it could offer the ELR at a price competitive with one or all three versions of the Model S and the $103,000-$116,000 Karma.

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