There is perhaps no greater proof of the new model's real future than the fact that GM has contracted with a Detroit auto journalist to write a book outlining its path from development to public debut. Look for the book, and the car, in about two years.
An even more important player in Evoq's development than a biographer is a vehicle line executive (VLE), since that is a critical step in its development. Interestingly, that person is Dave Hill, who is also the VLE for the Chevrolet Corvette, GM's other high-priced roadster.
Hill says his general goal in developing the Evoq is to make it so different from Corvette that no one will think about cross-shopping the two cars, and that is about all he says. Beyond that, all that is known about the Evoq is that it will be built in the same Kentucky factory that constructs Corvette and that it will get a composite body.
Using a composite rather than a steel or even an aluminum body is causing some consternation inside GM, since it is widely believed to be impossible to get the kind of creases and finishes from a polymer-based material that are required with Cadillac's sharp-edged new design vocabulary.
But Ron Zarella, president of GM North America, and other highly placed executives say that the company is working on a process that will enable the Evoq (or TR or whatever it is) to look largely the way it looks in its concept car form.