Back ninety or so years ago, few argued when Cadillac called itself the “Standard of the World.” Its wealthiest customers were often encouraged to buy just a bare chassis, and send it to a coachbuilder to create a custom body that was sometimes just one-of-one.
Over the years, the brand eventually fell from that lofty platform, but now GM is determined to bring it back to that height with the hand-built Celestiq. The first cars are expected to go into production in December 2023, squeaking in at the end of Cadillac’s 120th year. It will be entirely electric and, as the brand’s ultra-luxury halo car, entirely expensive.
It will start somewhere north of US$300,000 for American buyers, with the tag for Canada revealed later this year. The Celestiq will also be sold in the Middle East and China.
Unlike those days gone by, customers won’t have the option of buying just the chassis – in this case, the Ultium platform that GM’s eventually going to use under all its EVs – to be fitted with a custom body. Everyone will start with the same one, intriguingly handsome at the front but questionable from the rear, where the lights are meant to invoke the famed Cadillac tailfins of the 1950s.
2024 Cadillac Celestiq Photo by General Motors
2024 Cadillac Celestiq Photo by General Motors
2024 Cadillac Celestiq Photo by General Motors
2024 Cadillac Celestiq Photo by General Motors
2024 Cadillac Celestiq Photo by General Motors
Buyers will also get the stock four-seat configuration and cabin design, as well as 23-inch wheels. But each customer will select the upholstery and interior materials, and the cabin and exterior colours, including coming up with new shades if nothing in the paint-chip catalogue tickles one’s fancy. Naturally, the more customization, the higher the price goes.
That individual selection gives owners the “one-of-one” bragging rights, but there won’t be many on the road for comparison anyway. Rather than wind its way down a factory assembly line, the Celestiq will be hand-built at GM’s Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. It’s expected just two cars will be finished each day, and only a maximum of six will be in production at any given time. But it’s not a single run — according to a Cadillac rep, the Celestiq will be built for “multiple years,” with the exact number not revealed.
Cadillac plans to be all-electric by 2030, and has already released the brand’s first-ever EV, the 2023 Lyriq. The Celestiq will use a 111-kWh battery pack, with two electric motors providing all-wheel-drive with active rear steering. The automaker is estimating 600 horsepower and 640 lb-ft of torque, with zero-to-96 km/h acceleration times of around 3.8 seconds, and with battery range of 483 kilometres.
It will include an air suspension, active roll control, front and rear five-link suspension, and Magnetic Ride Control, which uses electric current to vary the damper performance almost instantly. This version of it was originally developed for the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing.
It’s not cost-effective to make tooling for low-volume parts, and so 115 of the Celestiq’s components are 3D-printed, including window switches and decorative trim, as well as the steering wheel centre that GM says is the largest metal-printed piece it’s made for a production car. The underbody structure is six sand-cast aluminum components, and some of the upper body is carbon-fibre. Anything that looks metal is metal, and the lights are individual LEDs, with up to 1,600 of them on the exterior.
2024 Cadillac Celestiq Photo by General Motors
2024 Cadillac Celestiq Photo by General Motors
2024 Cadillac Celestiq Photo by General Motors
2024 Cadillac Celestiq Photo by General Motors
2024 Cadillac Celestiq Photo by General Motors
Buyers can’t swap out the glass roof for a metal one, but it’s likely they won’t want to do that anyway. Rather than use a sunshade when it’s too bright, the suspended-particle glass can be adjusted lighter or darker to filter it out. That’s not new, but its four-quadrant division is, so each occupant can individually adjust the glass directly overhead.
The dash is a 55-inch display that stretches from pillar to pillar, comprised of two screens behind one sheet of glass. The passenger may be watching a movie or playing with a connected phone on that screen, so, to reduce distraction, a “digital blind” prevents the driver from seeing that side of the dash. The display is activated by a tablet-style touchscreen in the centre console, while rear-seat passengers get their own 12.6-inch screens. The centre display is also operated by a crystal dial controller in the console, adorned with the version of Cadillac’s “Goddess” mascot that first appeared on the V-16 models of 1933.
2024 Cadillac Celestiq Photo by General Motors
Other technologies include a microclimate at each seat for heating or cooling; connected cameras with crash recording and theft detection; 38-speaker audio system; and Ultra Cruise, a go-beyond version of the Super Cruise hands-free driving system already available on some other GM models. The Celestiq will come with the hardware for such semi-autonomous operation, and incremental over-the-air functionality updates will continue to improve it for the life of the vehicle.
To get a car, you must first find a dealership that sells the Celestiq — that being an existing Cadillac dealer that made the investment to do so. The customization process involves the customer, the dealer, and a Cadillac concierge who works between them and the build teams to outfit the car.
2024 Cadillac Celestiq Photo by General Motors
So is there actually a market for a $300,000-plus Caddy fastback? Obviously, the automaker thinks so. “We’ve done events with potential customers at the level we’re seeking, and there’s an immense interest in personalization,” said Brandon Vivian, Cadillac’s executive chief engineer, who pointed out that the CT5-V Blackwing and Escalade already venture into six-figure territory.
“The Blackwing and Celestiq customers may overlap,” he added. “Some want that ultimate level of performance and craftsmanship.”
The Celestiq could benefit just from being new: the big deal for the first buyers will likely be all the attention. Whether it will actually be the halo that propels Cadillac to the “Standard of the World” for electric vehicles will be the question after that.
Keyword: First Look: 2024 Cadillac Celestiq