The XLR coulda been a contender, stretching Cadillac’s Art and Science garb ... an extra forward gear, and bigger wheels/tires/brakes. Performance was similar (possibly superior in some metrics ...

enlarged braking discs and Pirelli tires mounted to 19-inch alloy wheels. The six-speed automatic transmission introduced on the 2006 XLR-V was adopted by the conventional Cadillac XLR in 2007.

Another unique quality setting the vehicle apart from the Chevrolet sports car was the availability of all-wheel drive on the Cadillac convertible. The 2004 Cadillac XLR was one of the first vehicles ...