GM could use Zeta platform for large Cadillac

General Motors could use the Zeta platform that underpins the 2009 Chevy Camaro and 2009 Pontiac G8 for "very large" Cadillac, GM product planner Bob Lutz told a group of journalists earlier this month.



"What you've got to understand is that we've got this modular product architecture kit where we have two different lengths of center underbodies, two different lengths of front rails and two different lengths of rear overhang. So we can modify those elements any way we want. In the case of the Camaro, it's long short, short. If, for instance, we wanted to do a very large rear-wheel-drive Cadillac with more than eight cylinders you could do long, long, long," Lutz said, according to The Car Connection.

"It's like a Lego set-you weld them together anyway you want."

Whenever there's mention of a "very large" future Cadillac, one can't help but recall the automaker's popular Sixteen concept (pictured). Although a recent report by Auto News suggested Cadillac would not build a competitor to the Mercedes S-Class, nor a production Sixteen, Lutz's comments seem to suggest such vehicles could be built economically.

Although encouraging, don't expect a Zeta-based super Caddy any time soon. GM's first Zeta car -- the Pontiac G8 -- will arrive in showrooms later this year, followed by the Camaro in late 2008 or early 2009. A new Chevrolet Impala based on the same platform is also expected in the next few years. Other Zeta-based vehicles are unlikely to be launched until after these cars hit the market.