New Cadillac ELR Gets the Yul Brynner Treatment from NCE; Anyone Interested?

If spending some $76,000 (before an available federal tax credit of up to $7,500) for Cadillac's ELR range-extender coupe hasn't made a big of a dent in your pocket and are looking for a more unique experience of the open top kind, the roof-reapers at Newport Convertible Engineering (NCE) have an announcement that may interest you.

Too Much? 2014 Cadillac ELR Starts at $75,995 Before Incentives, Arrives in January

Cadillac has announced that sales of the 2014 ELR will begin in January in all U.S. metropolitan areas, with the electrified luxury coupe having a starting price of $75,995 (€56,075), including a $995 (€734) destination charge but excluding tax, title, license and dealer fees.

However, buyers may be eligible for a tax credit up to $7,500 depending on individual tax liability. If the maximum tax credit is applied, the 2014 Cadillac ELR could cost $68,495 (€50,510), including $995 destination.

Dealers across the U.S. are “specially trained and certified to sell and service the 2014 ELR”, says the release, with prospective customers and buyers to have their own ELR Concierge Representative that will provide information on battery care, home charging, service scheduling, news and updates.

The ELR comes standard with Cadillac Shield, a program that includes owner benefits including Remote Vehicle Diagnostics, a Premium Care Maintenance program and 24/7 roadside assistance. The ELR also benefits from an extended battery and propulsion warranty of eight years of 100,000 miles (160,934 km), and a four-year or 50,000-mile (80,467-km) bumper-to-bumper limited warranty.

The Cadillac ELR has a hybrid powertrain consisting of a 16.5 kWh lithium-ion battery pack, a naturally-aspirated 84hp 1.4-liter gasoline engine that works as a generator and two electric motors with a combined output of 181 hp. The car has a total driving range of over 300 miles (482 km) and can drive on electric power alone for about 35 miles (56 km) on the highway.

By Dan Mihalascu

PHOTO GALLERY

Cadillac Confirms that the ELR will be FWD, Do You Think GM Made the Right Decision?

On Tuesday, Cadillac added another piece to the puzzle that is the new ELR plug-hybrid coupe by announcing that the car will be manufactured at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant with production to start in late 2013.
We already know that the ELR will be closely based on Cadillac's 2009 Converj Concept and that it will borrow much of its extended-range electric technology from the Chevy Volt, combining a T-shaped lithium-ion battery with an electric drive unit and an unspecified four-cylinder engine working as a generator to power the electric motor.
What we assumed, but didn't know for sure, is whether the ELR would keep the same front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout as the Volt or if Cadillac would engineer a new platform with a front-engine, rear-wheel drive configuration.