GM announces 270 horsepower turbo 4-cylinder for Cadillac ATS

We have seen teaser pictures and videos of the camouflaged 2013 Cadillac ATS but thanks to a new General Motors announcement, we know that there will be three engine options for the new compact sports sedan including a new turbocharged 2.0 4-cylinder packing 270 horsepower and 260lb-ft of torque.

This new 2.0L turbocharged 4-cylinder builds on past turbocharging programs and the result is an engine that offers 2013 Cadillac ATS drivers a whopping 135hp per liter – making it one of the most powerful cars in the class by that measure. "This engine is the perfect match for the new ATS, which will be a refined performance luxury sedan," said Don Butler, Cadillac vice president of Global Marketing. "The 2.0T has an exceptionally smooth and responsive power curve that will make the ATS nimble, quick and fun to drive."

General Motors reached these impressive measures with the new 2.0L turbo engine through a specially tuned application of the company’s direct injection system and variable valve timing combined with a twin scroll turbocharged that shoves 20 pounds per square inch of air into the engine to produce the 270hp output. More impressively, 90% of the turbo 4-cylinder’s 260lb-ft of torque is available from 1,500, revving all the way to 5,800rpm before running out of engine.

In addition to the new 2.0 liter turbo engine, the 2013 Cadillac ATS will come with a new 2.5L naturally aspirated 4-cylinder and the familiar 3.6L V6 that GM uses in pretty much every vehicle in their corporate (American) lineup. Output figures and fuel economy for these additional engines have not been provided but we would expect the V6 to make somewhere around 318hp (this engine makes 323 in the current base model Camaro, so there could be more than the 318 offered by this engine in current Cadillac applications). We don’t have any specs on the naturally aspirated 2.5L 4-cylinder but we should expect it to be less than the turbo 2.0L, so look for somewhere in the area of 230-245hp from that entry level engine. With 270 horsepower, we can expect the turbo 2.0L to be the mid-level engine in power but depending on the fuel economy figures, this new engine could be marketed and sold as the premium engine option for the 2013 ATS.

The folks at GM have offered this video detailing the new engine in the 2013 Cadillac ATS. The new ATS sport sedan is slated to make its grand debut at the 2013 North American International Auto Show in Detroit and TorqueNews will be there to bring you the car dubbed the BMW 3-Series fighter…and the rest of the major debuts from the Detroit Auto Show.

Other General Motors News:
GM confirms the Cadillac XTS and ATS for 2012
The Cadillac ATS spotted testing on the Nürburgring
New Cadillac ATS teaser video shows a manual transmission
General Motors teases the new 2013 Buick Encore CUV