Cadillac has revealed the Celestiq concept electric car, a vision of innovation and purpose that foreshadows the company's future hand-built and all-electric flagship sedan. Created to spearhead the electric future of the Cadillac brand and influenced by the company's rich 120-year history, Celestiq now serves as a benchmark for the Cadillac design and engineering teams as they work toward bringing the concept electric car to life.
Magalie Debellis, the Cadillac Advanced Design manager, stated, "The Cadillac Celestiq show car is the purest expression of Cadillac." The Cadillac flagship "brings to life the most integrated expressions of design and innovation in the brand's history."
The show car's design and engineering teams inspired the handcraft and individuality of early Cadillac sedans like the prewar era's bespoke V-16 powered coaches and the 1957 Eldorado Brougham. The Celestiq represents the zenith of this tradition, realized through cutting-edge manufacturing techniques and cutting-edge technologies.
According to Cadillac's chief engineer, Tony Roma, "those vehicles represented the pinnacle of luxury in their respective eras and helped make Cadillac the standard of the world." The Cadillac Celestiq electric car "builds on that heritage and captures the spirit of arrival they expressed" by being a sedan "because the configuration offers the very best luxury experience."
Designers looked to timeless works of architecture like Eero Saarinen's mid-century masterpieces and other iconic American designs that made waves when they were first introduced but have stood the test of time.
Celestiq's clean-sheet expression considers the entirety of travel as a curated experience meant to evoke an emotional response, thanks to the realization and incorporation of these influences within an Ultium-based EV architecture. The end product is a car that creates a compelling first impression and fosters a meaningful bond between its driver and prospective customers.
Laetitia Lopez, Cadillac's creative designer for color and trim, put it this way: "We've combined the beauty of function with the beauty of form." "We had to rethink everything to envelop the customer, all of their senses completely, and forge an emotional connection with the vehicle by using only the highest quality authentic materials, meticulous attention to detail, and cutting-edge technology."
Cadillac's vision for the future is expressed in the show car through the use of futuristic materials, cutting-edge technologies, and painstakingly crafted details. Cadillac plans to offer Ultra Cruise1, the next generation of available hands-free driver assistance technology from General Motors. The Cadillac Celestiq will be one of the highlights, along with the five high-definition, advanced LED interactive displays, the largest of which has a 55-inch diagonal.
Passengers can adjust the four zones of lighting in the cabin to their individual preferences, thanks to the Smart Glass Roof's Suspended Particle Device (SPD) technology. In addition, the 55-inch-diagonal advanced LED screen introduces an electronic digital blinds display for passengers, an active privacy technology meant to let passengers watch videos without compromising the driver's view.
Even though these technologies are only previews on the show car, Celestiq will be Cadillac's most cutting-edge vehicle to date. The release date of Celestiq's production version has not yet been set.
Cadillac says this will be its most advanced car to date, and reports say it will cost around $300,000 more than many other electric cars. Some people might say the Celestiq looks too much like the Lyriq, which costs only about $60,000, but we think the Celestiq's sleek sedan shape is pretty unique. The fact that it has a high-tech interior and more luxury than any other Cadillac makes it worth more than its stablemate.
