Cadillac put their luxurious plug-in hybrid coupe, the ELR, on sale in December of last year. The ELR utilizes the Voltec powertrain which also powers the Chevrolet Volt, and even though it uses Cadillac’s Art and Science design language, is luxurious enough for a king and features the unique Regen On Demand system, the ELR isn’t all that different from its bow tie-wearing brother.
The ELR could benefit from becoming a bit more quintessentially Cadillac. One of the ways GM could do this, while differentiating it from any other plug-in EV would be to offer it in convertible format, just like in the rendering from Newport Convertible Engineering pictured above.
Considering the popularity of EVs and hybrids in markets with warm climates such as Florida and California, the ELR convertible might not be such a bad idea. It wouldn’t help the $75,995 asking price, which many believe is already too high, but it would make it the only hybrid convertible you can buy today, automatically putting it in a league of its own.
Of course, this idea is a little farfetched, and it’s extremely unlikely GM would jump on board. But if anyone out there finds it appealing, Newport Convertible Engineering might be willing to build you one. After all, they have chopped the roof off of many other late-model Cadillacs, including the STS, DTS, CTS and even the Escalade
Comments
Now this I like. Very sexy indeed.
I wouldn’t say that NCE knows a thing about ‘sexy’. All of their production convertibles are atrocious, even if some of them are photoshops.
http://www.carscoops.com/2013/07/cadillac-ats-four-door-convertible.html
I’ve never liked four-door cabriolets. And I wouldn’t call this “sexy”, either. But it’s still a very cool design, and the Opel Cascada is proof that this Delta-II platform can support a cabriolet. So it certainly couldn’t hurt for GM to look into it.
GM needs to jump all over something like this. As a matter of fact, this should have been a part of the original concept for the vehicle. This car is made to be a convertible. Speaking of convertibles…why is it Caddy has none?
Huh…good question. Cabriolets are aspirational items, and they do wonders for brand-image. I’m sure that Cadillac will eventually utilize the new Alpha platform to create a cabriolet version of either the ATS or the CTS…probably the former. But at some point, Cadillac will also need a larger cabrio…on par with the BMW 6-Series.
This is a nice design. But I would warn you about mixing up the terms “platform” and “powertrain”. Voltec is a powertrain, not a platform.
Looks like a Cascada. Way to similar, regardless of features.
I’m very susceptible to interest in this, but it looks high waisted, slab sided, and way over priced. Maybe BMW will come up with a hybrid hardtop convertible in 4 or 6 series?