Currently reading: Cadillac ramps up European assault
New V6 diesel and BLS estate to broaden US car maker's appeal

Cadillac is serious about Europe, and to prove it the US brand revealed its crucial new 2.9-litre V6 diesel at the Geneva motor show, and announced the new BLS wagon.

The new engine is critical to expanding Cadillac’s sales in Europe. It will first be available in the new CTS saloon – the firm’s 3/5-series rival – which was revealed at Detroit in January, and which will be coming to the UK in right-hand-drive form in late 2008.

The V6 diesel produces 247bhp and a whopping 406lb ft from 2000rpm, and can be installed either transversely or longitudinally, making it suitable for a wider range of models.

The new engine is, however, unlikely to make it into the new BLS estate, announced at Geneva and revealed in our pictures here.

The BLS saloon – Cadillac’s restyled version of the Saab 9-3 – hasn’t sold anything like as well as was hoped for. Cadillac reckons that the wagon version should provide added appeal when it goes on sale at the end of 2007.

The BLS estate will be available with the same range of engines as the saloon; a 1.9-litre, 148bhp diesel, 173 or 207bhp 2.0-litre turbo petrols or a 2.8-litre turbocharged V6 petrol producing 252bhp.

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