We’ve been following the news for a very long time but General Motors is finally ready to give us our first taste of Cadillac’s new entry in the premium sport sedan segment codenamed ATS with the release of an official –albeit shadowed- photo.

The new entry-level Cadillac which may or may not keep the ATS moniker when it arrives in the market next year, will go up against Germany’s finest including the BMW 3-Series, Audi A4 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class as well as the Lexus IS range.

GM said production of the small Cadillac will begin next summer at Lansing Grand River, the same Michigan assembly plant that manufactures the midsize Cadillac CTS sedan, coupe and wagon models. The Detroit automaker added that the plant received a $190 million investment and 600 jobs for the new ATS.

“The car we codenamed ATS is being developed to be a driver’s car on an all-new Cadillac-specific RWD-AWD architecture,” Reuss said. “We have extensively and exhaustively studied the competitive segment, and we have benchmarked the best. And when this car comes out, that will be readily apparent.

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