GM Introduces First Four-Cylinder Turbo Cadillac in World

General Motors, through its Shanghai GM joint venture, has introduced the first Cadillac with a four-cylinder turbocharged engine in the world. It’s an effort by Cadillac to get into the increasingly popular 2.0 to 2.5-liter luxury powertrain segment.

Making its global debut is the Cadillac SLS 2.0T SIDI, which sets a new performance standard for low-emission luxury business cars, according to a GM press release. It is the first vehicle in Cadillac’s 100-year history to offer a four-cylinder turbocharged engine. It represents the brand’s entrance into the 2.0- to 2.5-liter luxury business car segment. Three variants will be available.

This is the market manufacturers want to crack across the world because these small, turbocharged engines provide the output of a V-6 with the fuel economy of an inline four-cylinder engine. As one Kia executive said recently, the problem is teaching the American market about turbos (and how far they have come).

The turbos of today bear no resemblance to the turbos of even recent past. Thanks to twin scroll technology there is no perceptible turbo lag.

Look for Cadillac to bring some variant of the SIDI to North America as it seeks to improve corporate average fuel economy numbers (CAFE). In the short-term, companies are going to make meaningful strides in CAFE numbers with turbo-charged engines because they will sell in more significant numbers than electric vehicles.