Cadillac announced the large electric sedan Celestiq in January 2021 at the CES. Now we learn what the flagship will look like: The manufacturer presents the car as a design study.
While the front is familiar to the Cadillac Lyriq, the rear is a surprise: This is not a classic notchback sedan with angular shapes, but a large hatchback with a sloping rear. If the body gaps aren’t misleading, the model doesn’t have a trunk lid but rather a large tailgate – similar to the Mercedes EQS.
The designers also drew inspiration from the work of mid-20th-century architect Eero Saarinen and other American design icons. The car should also be reminiscent of early Cadillac sedans. The Celestiq is ” also a sedan because this configuration offers the very best luxury experience”.
According to Cadillac, the interior offers a preview of the materials to be expected, the quality craftsmanship, and the high-tech features. According to Cadillac, the highlights include no fewer than five high-resolution LED displays. This includes a huge 55-inch monitor that stretches almost the entire width of the dashboard. The area on the right (i.e. the display for the front passenger) has an electronic blind so that the person behind the wheel is not distracted.
Two displays can be seen on the left and right in the inner door panels, which show the images from the exterior mirror cameras. There is also a monitor between the front seats (probably for climate settings and the like), a corresponding monitor for the rear, and two displays on the backs of the headrests.
Wait a minute: a large 55-inch display, two monitors for the outside cameras, two for the climate controls, and two in the rear: That makes seven monitors and not five as announced by Cadillac, but maybe the smaller displays aren’t “high-resolution” or they don’t have LED technology.
In any case, a new system for semi-autonomous driving called Ultra Cruise helps when driving – that’s what Cadillac calls the successor to today’s Super Cruise system. Another highlight is the glass roof with variable light transmission. It offers four zones whose transparency can be set differently. In this way, every occupant can select the setting that suits him or her.
These and other technologies should make the Celestiq the most modern car that Cadillac has ever presented:
“While they’re previewed on the show car, these technologies and more will make Celestiq the most advanced vehicle ever from Cadillac.”
As with the Lyriq, the technical basis is the Ultium platform, which enables batteries with a capacity of up to 200 kWh and front, rear and all-wheel drive. For the drive, Cadillac is still covered, just like at the time of the start of series production. More details will be announced in 2022. The car is to be built at the GM Global Technical Center in Warren (near Detroit).
