Besides inaugurating Cadillac’s new naming strategy, the upcoming CT6 flagship sedan will feature a plug-in electric version that will return a fuel economy of 70 MPGe.

General Motors’ top product chief Mark Reuss said the CT6 PHEV will offer an “industry-leading fuel economy upwards of 70 mpg equivalent,” as well as feature an extremely strong and light body. The Cadillac CT6 will be built at GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant beginning late next year.

“We will create with the CT6 the world’s most advanced body structure. And it’s not aluminum. It’s a stronger, smarter, safer premium luxury vehicle,” Reuss was quoted as saying by The Detroit News during GM’s Global Business Conference.

The CT6 will feature a mixed material body structure that combines Cadillac’s patented welding technology with high-strength steel, aluminum and steel stampings and castings in order to create a lightweight vehicle that uses 20 percent fewer parts. Thanks to these changes, the CT6 is 53 lbs (24 kg) lighter than the current CTS, despite an 8-inch (203-mm) longer bodywork.

Reuss explained that GM has taken 20 different parts used on a front body pillar and created one single casting, with the technology helping improve safety, ride and handling, as well as noise levels. “We have eliminated a lot of opportunities for failures or quality spills,” Reuss said.

Designed to compete with luxury icons like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7-Series, the Cadillac CT6 will feature among other powertrains a 3-liter twin turbo engine combined with an eight-speed transmission. Billed as “the most powerful six-cylinder gas engine in the segment,” the powerplant will feature stop-start technology.

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