- Cadillac pulled the wraps off of the Celestiq, its new super high-end electric vehicle.
- The long, low sedan will start at around $300,000 and each will be hand-built to customer preferences.
The brand that defined the American luxury car is making a land yacht for the electric era.
After months of teasing, General Motors on Monday officially unveiled the Cadillac Celestiq, an ultra-luxurious, zero-emission sedan meant to go toe-to-toe with high-end cars from Rolls-Royce and Bentley. It's part of GM's ambitious plan to sell only electric vehicles by 2035.
It'll start at around $300,000 before delivery fees and options, which buyers are invited to pile on with the help of a personal concierge that will guide them through the purchase process. Each Celestiq will be hand-built to customer specifications, and the brand will limit annual production to "an extremely low volume." Production starts in December 2023.
That hefty price tag gets you a sedan with exaggerated, concept-car styling and a silhouette like nothing else on the road. It looks exceptionally long and has a slanted, fastback rear end reminiscent of EVs like the Porsche Taycan and Mercedes-Benz EQS.
The Celestiq's interior is marked by sleek lines and a clean aesthetic. But Cadillac didn't hold back when it came to screens: There are five of them. The star of the show is a 55-inch display spanning the dashboard consisting of two separate screens. It's controlled by a crystal rotary dial.
Then there's a slanted "Front Command Center" mounted to the center console. Back-seat passengers aren't left out: They get a "Rear Command Center'' along with 12.6-inch screens mounted to the front seatbacks.
Inside, the Celestiq gets ambient lighting, generous amounts of leather, and a glass roof that can be tinted at the push of a button. The roof has four zones that can be controlled independently.
Buyers can expect 300 miles of driving range from a 111-kilowatt battery, Cadillac says. Celestiqs will have all-wheel drive provided by two motors that together produce 600 horsepower and 640 pound-feet of torque. The car can hit 60 mph in a brief 3.8 seconds, Cadillac estimates. The brand thoughtfully included rear-wheel steering to help customers navigate tight areas like parking lots without excessive K-turns.
The Celestiq debuts as one piece in a wide-ranging electrification strategy from GM that promises to bring EVs of many body styles and price points to US roads. At the more affordable end of the spectrum will be the Chevrolet Equinox EV, which targets a starting price of $30,000.
Current models like the Chevy Bolt EUV and Cadillac Lyriq SUV along with future ones like the GMC Sierra EV anf Chevy Silverado EV pickup trucks make up the middle ground.