For the longest time, Cadillac was considered a world class car company. Indeed, one’s aspirations could be measured by the brand of car we wanted to buy, and only the most ambitious would reach for a Cadillac. But Caddy fell on hard times, as GM found itself weighed and watered down by too many brands. Cadillac has been experiencing something of a revival, but many of its models, like the DTS and STS, are in dire need of replacement. What is next?

GM Inside News is reporting that there is a good chance that Caddy will develop an all-new, rear-wheel drive flagship for the brand. But with the Northstar series of engines retiring, what powertrain will motivate this new luxury machine?

GM has known that Caddy needed a new line of cars for awhile, and prior to filing bankruptcy, CEO Ed Whitacre had pushed forward the “DT7” program to develop a new rear-wheel drive flagship. But bankruptcy put the kibosh on that. A new Caddy flagship program has not yet been approved rather, GM has decided to explore the options for a new flagship Caddy. This leaves us wondering what kind of engine the new Caddy will get and we will explore a few options of our own.

We are already pretty confident that a new, smaller Caddy based on the Alpha platform will share many components with the next-gen Camaro. And GM has showcased the XTS concept but that is a V6 hybrid. No doubt, fuel efficiency will play a role in all of GM’s future cars, and GM is also developing a twin-turbo V6 engine to combat Ford’s EcoBoost. But what about a new, smaller LSX engine? Corvette Racing has been using a 5.5 liter V8 engine that uses many production components. Caddy buyers expect impressive performance; could the new flagship get a V-version too, using the same engine found in the CTS-V, the 556-horsepower LSA engine?

Whatever GM is working on, it better be powerful and frugal on fuel. American car buyers are getting pickier, and the competition has stepped up its game. But Cadillac is still a household name, and we’re sure they are ready to step up to the plate.