GM Omega Platform To Underpin Future Big RWD Cadillacs: Report

General Motors is reportedly developing a new rear-wheel drive platform to underpin future large Cadillac models, known as Omega.

Following the naming standard used across the GM platform range, leaping to the last letter in the Greek alphabet makes one thing clear: these will be some big, big cars.

According to US magazine Car & Driver, Omega will replace the ageing Sigma platform, currently underpinning the 5 Series rivalling CTS and forming the basis for the larger STS sedan and previous-generation SRX SUV.

Next-generation CTS cars are expected to ride on GM’s versatile new Alpha platform for smaller RWD models, already found beneath the new 3 Series challenging ATS. 

The report adds that the Omega platform will form the basis of two new vehicles larger than both the CTS and replacing the still to be launched XTS. An SUV is also reported.

To contain development costs, Omega cars are expected to use a suspension design similar to Alpha-based models, but with unique floorpan and body structures.

With a view to strengthening the Cadillac brand’s premium status, the platform is expected to be exclusive to the brand and developed with refinement as a priority.

Rear-wheel-drive vehicles from GM's less prestige-focused marques will call on the VF Commodore-bound Zeta II platform, its predecessor underpinning the likes of the VE Commodore and the Chevrolet Camaro.

The Omega platform’s exclusivity and refinement focus would also make Omega an ideal basis for a long-anticipated flagship sedan, which has been hinted at with both the 2003 Sixteen and 2011 Ciel concepts.

This would mark a return to the grand sedans that made the brand famous, and a potentially ideal model for the limousine-hungry Chinese market.