Propulsion system specs for the upcoming 2017 Cadillac CT6 plug-in hybrid were recently revealed at the SAE 2016 Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Technologies Symposium in Anaheim by GM’s General Director of Electrification and its General Director of Electric Drives and Systems Engineering, according to recent reports.
The technical overview of the new rear-wheel drive plug-in hybrid (PHEV) propulsion system revealed that the Cadillac CT6 PHEV will feature a combined system output of 335 kilowatts (449 horsepower), and a combined fuel consumption of under 2.0 L/100 km (117.7 mpg US). The new PHEV will do 0-100 kilometers-an-hour (0-62 mph) in 5.6 seconds, possess an all-electric top speed of 125 kilometers-an-hour (78 mph), and an all-electric range of 37 miles (60 kilometers).
The battery pack that will be used is an 18.4 kilowatt-hour (kWh) lithium-ion battery pack — identical in nominal capacity to the second-generation Chevy Volt battery pack, though packaged differently.
The GM General Director of Electrification, Tim Grewe, commented: “We have a PHEV system that has incredible efficiency, but it is also one of the highest performing vehicles on the road with extraordinarily connected feel to it.”
“Often it is very enticing to say, ‘Well I’m just going to load the battery pack into an existing structure in the car.’ But basically we cut out the whole back of the CT6. We use the tray of the battery pack as the main floor structure. With the ability to handle the weight of the battery in the car structure, it really improved the stiffness. To handle that mass on the rear wheel drive, it actually made driveability better, because it is stiffer and engineered to go together.”
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The new electrically variable rear wheel drive transmission comprises 2 electric motors, 3 planetary gears (two simple, one double-pinion) and 5 clutches that deliver four continuously variable transmission modes with 3 fixed gears.
Providing all-electric launch, selectable regeneration, and power blending with the turbocharged engine, the transmission provides smooth and seamless power through the entire driving range.
…For the CT6, GM took the basic design of the drive unit in the Volt (two planetary gearsets, two motors, two clutches)—which enables the CT6 to perform well as an all-electric vehicle—and added a third planetary gearset and two more clutches to enhance the “fun-to-drive”.
“Basically, that gives you a Volt on steroids. It gives you tremendous launch torque. It’s actually a 6.8 step down in the EVT low. You look at some of the EV effort we have here, you’re almost above 5,000 N·m. You have that EV launch feel,” Grewe continued.
The Cadillac CT6 PHEV is actually going to be manufactured in China, it should be remembered. It’s currently expected to be released here sometime later this year.