The General takes command; Cadillac's 750-hp supercar Cien concept is the latest in GM's hit parade.(Cadillac Cien luxury sports car)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)

Like Chrysler before it, General Motors' design shop is suddenly pumping out hit after hit-and GM is turning the best concepts into production cars. From 2000's Chevrolet SSR to this year's Buick Bengal roadster and Hummer H2 sport/utility truck, GM is clearly staking a claim to the concept-to-production formula.

With those vehicles either nearing production (SSR, H2) or green-lighted for production (Bengal), GM is ready to flex its newfound design and development muscle again.

Enter the Cadillac Cien (below), a two-seat luxury sports car with a mid-mounted V12 engine that GM claims makes no less than 750 horsepower. Cien is one of three concepts GM will show at the North American International Auto Show in January in Detroit. The others are a Saturn 2+2 roadster named Sky (right) and a GMC five-person truck, Terra4. All three were revealed to journalists during the recent Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance weekend.

Cien (the name in Spanish means ``100,'' in honor of the marque's centennial next year) is the work of Cadillac designer Simon Cox, who runs GM's London design studio. The two-seater is built around a carbon fiber monocoque and an all-new aluminum Northstar XV12 (the X is for ``concept''). With a healthy dose of support from Cosworth Engineering, the 7.5-liter engine produces 450 lb-ft of torque along with the 750 horses. The transmission is a semi-automatic gearbox with F1-style paddle shifters.

The exterior styling of the Cien is along the Vizon, Imaj, Evoq line, but is a far more pleasing iteration of that concept.

Because Cien is built on a carbon fiber monocoque rather than adapting an existing GM platform, it means the concept could quickly become a reality-in limited numbers-just like race cars are done.

``What's the point of doing a concept with no intent on building the car?'' asks Cox.