Here's Proof That Cadillac Should Revive The XLR Name @ Top Speed

Instagram artist thinks this should be the revived Cadillac XLR

by Tudor Rus, on January 6, 2021, 12:00

Bringing back dead car monikers is way easier today than it was not so many years ago. You’ve got a lot of internet-based pixel manipulators with a knack for cars and more often than not, the results are drool-worthy. Sometimes, however, they’re just downright eccentric and polarizing.

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A post shared by Oscar Vargas | Concept Autos (@wb.artist20)

Remember the Cadillac XLR? We know we do. The Corvette-based convertible was thrown in battle against its more popular (and also flashier, despite the XLR’s Bulgari interior) European counterparts, namely the SL55 AMG and Jaguar XKR.

Standard power came from a V-8 good for 320 horsepower but a beefed up XLR-V could be kitted around a 443-horsepower, 4.4-liter V-8 with a supercharger glued to it. Power went to the rear wheels and the engine sat in the front.

The same can’t be said about a would-be, modern take on the XLR using the mid-engined C8 Corvette’s platform. No, this is not something Cadillac is pondering, but an independent artist’s take on a current-day XLR.

Here's Proof That Cadillac Should Revive The XLR Name - image 961941

Now, roadsters are by tradition front-engined, rear-wheel drive vehicles that love the open road more than city asphalt. Think BMW Z3, Honda S2000, Mazda MX-5 or earlier takes such as the Alfa Romeo Spider and Mercedes-Benz 380SL. That’s why we’re guessing Oscar Vargas (@wb.artist20 on Instagram) had quite a rough time playing with his design study’s proportions.

In all fairness, his designs show what we believe to be a coupe of sorts and he doesn’t specify whether that solid roof is fixed or it can be folded or just detached and stowed away – the one in the original XLR was retractable by a hydraulic setup, by the way.

Here's Proof That Cadillac Should Revive The XLR Name - image 961945

That said, don’t dwell to much on the design itself. Rendering artists don’t usually care whether a car makes sense financially-speaking of if it’s going to be a hit. We’re pretty sure Cadillac has no plans to revive the XLR – feel free to contradict us with hard proof, yet it’s nice to see modern, albeit wild takes on quasi-forgotten nameplates every now and then, don’t you think?

Source: wb.artist20 via Instagram

About the author

2020 Chevrolet C8 Corvette Stingray

2004 – 2009 Cadillac XLR

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