General Motors (GM): Get General Motors Company Report finally appears to have a vehicle that will usher it back into the ranks of high-end luxury automakers to compete with Rolls-Royce and Bentley.
It’s the club of artisanal vehicle manufacturers, one would be tempted to say. The principle of the brands that belong to this club is that every car that leaves their factory is different from the others. The cars are nothing alike. Each customer can customize their car according to their tastes. It is custom made.
To enter this elite club, GM has just introduced the Cadillac Celestiq, the second all-electric model from the Detroit giant’s premium brand after the Lyriq. The vehicle aims to change the perception of the Cadillac brand and reconnect with its famous motto: “the standard of the world”.
GM wants to change the narrative around Cadillac
The group just revealed this concept car on Instagram.
It is an imposing electric luxury sedan that the company aims to launch in 2024. The design is based on the Cadillac mythos. It has futuristic lines that, especially at the back, offer a very innovative look, using two pairs of boomerang LEDs that act as optical groups and at the same time as authentic style signals on the side. The rear is very sunken but, given the length of the vehicle, you could almost see a cross between the 4-seater coupé and the hunting van.
Celestiq designers have traveled back in time to study pre-war V-16s and the 1957 Eldorado Brougham for inspiration. Fewer than 400 Eldorado Broughams were built, for a starting price of $13,074 each. At the time, a Rolls-Royce Silver Wrath sold for $9,000. Adjusted for inflation, these figures would be approximately 10 times more current.
Cadillac
“These vehicles represented the pinnacle of luxury in their respective eras and helped make Cadillac the world’s standard,” said Tony Roma, Celestiq chief engineer, in a press release. the setting offers the ultimate luxury experience – it builds on that pedigree and captures the spirit of arrival they expressed.”
Scroll to Continue
There are similar details between the Celestiq and the Eldorado Brougham, such as the presence of the “Flying Goddess” formerly used on the radiators of the ornament near the front wheel arch. There is also a contrast between the high-tech digital finish and the color of the upholstery and the shape of the steering wheel, which looks vintage.
Cadillac has equipped numerous internal LED screens, including a gigantic 55″ panel that runs through the entire dashboard that stands out, like the Mercedes MBUX Hyperscreen. Passengers can count on a kind of virtual curtain, which allows them to enjoy different video content, not visible to the occupants of the cabin. The front passenger will be able to watch videos or other content on the large screen without the driver being able to see anything from his angle. The rest of the screens are located on the front and rear consoles as well as in the back of each front seat.
$300,000 per unit?
The roof also uses smart glass technology, which creates four different zones that the respective passengers can mask to control the amount of light that passes through.
GM has yet to release technical information about the Cadillac Celestiq. We know that this sedan will be electric, but we still don’t know how many kilometers it will be able to travel with a load, for example.
Production, which will be based on GM’s Ultium modular platform for electric vehicles, is expected to begin in late 2023.
The Celestiq will be a very exclusive and niche product, according to GM, with each unit handcrafted and customized for each buyer at dedicated facilities in Warren, Michigan. Its base price could be around $300,000 or more. The automaker intends to build fewer than 500 Celestiqs a year as a way to showcase its technology, increase rarity value, and generate newness for Cadillac.
Earlier this month, GM said it was investing more than $81 million in the GM Technical Center in Warren for the Celestiq. The car will be equipped with the new generation of Ultra Cruise, the company’s driver assistance system.
Cadillac is aiming for an all-electric portfolio by 2030.