Cadillac was once the standard of the world. Now, with a new, all-electric, $300,000 flagship – it might very well be again!
“The CELESTIQ show car is the purest expression of Cadillac,” offers Magalie Debellis, manager of Cadillac Advanced Design. “It brings to life the most integrated expressions of design and innovation in the brand’s history, coalescing in a defining statement of a true Cadillac flagship.”
It’s true. The CELESTIQ (not sure what the CAPS LOCK RAGE is all about, but OK) tries to draw a line between the classic Phaetons, V16s, and Broughams of Cadillac’s pre-war heyday and, we think, it does the job. The big Caddy – which is not quite a sedan, not quite a wagon, but definitely not an SUV or crossover – will look right at home parked next to a Mercedes EQS or Lucid Air … and maybe even in a Batcave, assuming you can order one in a matte or satin black.
“Those vehicles represented the pinnacle of luxury in their respective eras, and helped make Cadillac the ‘standard of the world,'” said Tony Roma, chief engineer of the CELESTIQ project. “The CELESTIQ show car — also a sedan, because the configuration offers the very best luxury experience — builds on that pedigree and captures the spirt of arrival they expressed.”
It’s Super Nice Inside
Inside, Cadillac brings back the bold, red leather of the Seville and Eldorado you remember riding in as a kid, if you ever got to ride in a “nice” car. That retro nostalgia feeling gets backed up by modern tech, too.
“The Smart Glass Roof features Suspended Particle Device (SPD) technology that allows for four zones of variable lighting,” reads the official press release. “[That enables] passengers to fine-tune their cabin experience for completely personalized comfort and visibility. Additionally, the 55-inch-diagonal advanced LED display introduces a passenger display with electronic digital blinds, an active privacy technology, which is designed to allow passengers to enjoy video content while blocking it from the view of the driver.”
All of which sounds like great stuff, but the most significant thing about this $300,000 über sedan isn’t the tech or even the performance – which, thanks to GM’s outstanding Ultium EV platform, is substantial – it’s the fact that the car looks a lot like the $61K LYRIQ crossover. A fact that, no doubt, will help sell Caddy’s bread-and-butter crossover.
That’s our take, anyway – check out some more GM press photos of the new Cadillac CELESTIQ, below, then let us know what you think of GM’s big new standard-bearer in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
Cadillac CELESTIQ Show Car
SOURCE | IMAGES: GM.
One Response
A highly overpriced version of the Lyriq with a few sculpted body panels and red leather interior.