DailyTech - Cadillac Unveils Production ELR Plug-in Hybrid Luxury Coupe

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Auto Cadillac Unveils Production ELR Plug-in Hybrid Luxury Coupe
Brandon Hill (Blog) - January 14, 2013 3:01 PM

20 comment(s) - last by Mint.. on Jan 15 at 9:10 PM

The Voltec platform gets some fancy clothing

The Chevrolet Volt is definitely a technology powerhouse, but it surely won't win any beauty contests. While the concept version of the Volt had a low-slung, angular vibe to it, the production model came out looking neutered and "blobbish". The $40,000 plug-in hybrid can travel roughly 35 miles on battery power before its 1.4-liter gasoline engine/generator kicks in to keep the vehicle moving.

General Motors is now looking to take innovative powertrain of the Volt and place it under sheet metal that will make people stand up and take notice instead of fall asleep from boredom. What once started out as the Evoq concept car has transformed into the ELR production model.

Like the Volt, the ELR is a four-seater -- a portion of the vehicle’s battery pack runs right down the center of the vehicle which makes a center rear seating position impossible. However, the two passengers in the back are treated to some comfy seats nonetheless.

Unlike the Volt, the ELR pretty much went from concept to production unscathed design wise. The chiseled straight edges and overall design aesthetic is all there. The interior looks quite luxurious and carries with it Cadillac’s CUE touch-based infotainment system.

We’re still waiting to get the full details on the powertrain and driving range/fuel economy, but we’ll update this story as soon as those numbers are available.