As General Motors' Cadillac brand ramps up production of it's newly-named CT6 luxury sedan, not all eyes will be on Detroit, where the automaker announced earlier this month the sleek new car will be built.

That's because the latest news about the still-in-development 2015 model broke at about the same time GM revealed its Cadillac, as part of a strategic company realignment, will become a separate business unit -- with its world headquarters in New York City, set to open next year.

"With the relentless upward repositioning of successive new-generation Cadillac products, the next logical step is to provide Cadillac more freedom to cultivate the brand in pursuit of further global growth," GM President Dan Ammann said in a news release, which also noted the move "affirms Cadillac's importance to GM's strategy. Creating a new Cadillac business unit enables it to pursue growing opportunities in the luxury automotive market with more focus and clarity."

Cadillac's ultimate goal, to reclaim a preeminent position among luxury brands worldwide, required a total re-working of its business model, beginning with the establishment of a "distinct and focused new organization," Ammann said. "More than a division or brand, Cadillac is becoming a center of excellence for our company."

Johan de Nysschen, who joined Cadillac as its new president in August and will be responsible for the brand's overall operational performance, said his emerging organization is "very proud of our Detroit roots and heritage, and the majority of the Cadillac workforce will remain in Michigan."

Then again, he said, "there is no city in the world where the inhabitants are more immersed in a premium lifestyle than in New York. Establishing our new global headquarters in Soho places Cadillac at the epicenter of sophisticated living. It allows our team to share experiences with premium-brand consumers and develop attitudes in common with our audience."

The company's new roots in the Big Apple took industry analysts and Internet bloggers by surprise, with at least a few predicting the move paved further demise for Detroit's once shining auto industry.

That said, Cadillac tried to explain in its move announcement that while the majority of global and U.S. operations will be located at the new headquarters, "there will be no change to technical product development teams located in Michigan, nor does the plan impact manufacturing or assembly operations."

When it launches in late-2015, the RWD CT6 will expand the Cadillac range upwards -- which is to say it won't be replacing any of the brand's current models.

It will, however, take the poll position in Cadillac's line-up of rides, ahead of the the CTS and XTS, as the company seeks to market the CT6 among the world's "elite group of top-class large luxury cars," the release said.

The model name was inspired by Cadillac's use of CTS for its centerpiece carline, which was recently awarded as Motor Trend's "Car of the Year" for 2014, Road & Track's "Best Luxury Sedan" and one of Car and Driver's "10Best."

The CT6 promises to be "the lightest and most agile car in the class of top-level large luxury sedans," said Travis Hester, the model's executive chief engineer.. "Using the lessons learned from our dynamic ATS and CTS product lines, we have developed an entirely new vehicle architecture for the CT6. It will employ a mixed material philosophy that combines the best and most efficient components optimized for each area of this new top-of-the-range car."

The Cadillac CT6 will be assembled in Detroit, part of an announced $384 million investment in the Detroit-Hamtramck plant, said the company.