With all the talk of rebirth and new beginnings surrounding the 2016 Cadillac CT6, you’d be forgiven if you feel like you’ve seen the company’s new flagship sedan before. While it’s very new and perhaps technically brilliant underneath, the CT6 fits firmly in with the smaller sedans in the lineup.

That’s no bad thing, however. And after poking around Cadillac’s new sedan Tuesday night at its launch event in Brooklyn, the CT6 is all about the details and the possibility it gets a lot of things right.

But you can’t help but notice the exterior design looks like a CTS photocopied to 120 percent. The CTS wears Cadillac’s current styling the best, along with the vertical LED running light strip up front – the CT6 manages a sort of teary effect with the lights, although it’s mitigated a bit on a white car. And the CTS has a nicer rear end, as I’m not a fan of the way the CT6’s curves.

Beyond that, however, it’s certainly a handsome car. Imposing, too. It’s also subtle about holding onto Cadillac styling traditions. There’s not much brightwork either, as the chrome is really a brushed-looking trim that doesn’t bind you under bright light. And then there are details like the Cadillac emblem hiding the radar for the cruise control, or the nicely hidden cameras for the 360-degree camera and night vision systems.

It’s really the interior where the CT6 shines. The huge slab of wood on the dash of the top-line Platinum trim car I got into reminds me a lot of a Mercedes-Benz CLS. The leather is of a rich quality and you really just want to touch everything. The CT6 gets a new touchpad for the CUE infotainment system, too, which could help navigate that particularly difficult system. Ultimately, the CT6 will probably shine best when it’s loaded with all the tech options.

The real story, however, will be what the CT6 is like to drive. This is a “Cadillac Touring” model, as brand CEO Johan de Nysschen called it. Consider that the car is sized like a short-wheelbase Mercedes S-Class or BMW 7-series, yet weighs more on par with their compact and midsize offerings and you wonder if as big as a CT6 could feel light on its feet. And doing that while keeping the feeling of solidity and command that a traditional Cadillac sedan does will be an even more impressive accomplishment. Cadillac made it clear they sweat the most details in the structure, so it’ll be fun to find out.

The lasting impression is that the CT6 is a car Cadillac set out to design and didn’t have it gutted by the accountants. And that’s an important step if you’re going to dare to be the standard of the world, or whatever the tag line is these days. You’re probably still going to have to explain it to your neighbors with the Audi, but it might be so good that you won’t mind telling them why you bought it.

Photos copyright Carscoops.com / Zac Estrada

Twitter: @zacestrada

Photo gallery