Cadillac has often said its concept cars aren’t made with production in mind, but the well-received Escala fastback sedan is poised to break that trend. According to Autoline, Cadillac has given the Escala a green light for production.
AutoForecast Solutions supplied the intel and claimed the sedan, which will wear the “Escala” nameplate and not an alphanumeric badge, will enter production in December 2021.
The firm’s information alleges the Escala will ride on the Omega platform, which currently only underpins the Cadillac CT6, and it will most certainly represent the brand’s flagship model, should the information prove reliable.
The production Escala will be built at General Motors’ Detroit-Hamtramck plant where the Chevrolet Volt, Impala, Buick LaCrosse and Cadillac CT6 are also built, per the report.
The Escala debuted at the 2016 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and previewed future Cadillac design language inside and out. It’s worth noting the Detroit-Hamtramck plant only builds sedans, so it’s quite likely we’ll see the Escala keep its four-door with a liftback layout. We have rendered a true Escala sedan minus the liftback for your viewing pleasure above.
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Comments
If this rumor is true, that is awesome! I certainly hope they keep the name or at least use a name. I like when car companies name their cars.
Maybe it will be a trim level designation, E.g. Denali or the new Avenir, as opposed to the current Platinum that they use on the CT6. 2019 CT6 Escala perhaps? 🙂
I have seen the Escala in person…it’s beautiful and I love the design direction.
Glad it is approve. I wonder if they kept the 5 door hatch?
Be forewarned there may be some changes due to time and the fact the car we have see was a pure show car. I would expect they will keep much of the styling as close as they can.
they need to keep the lift back hatch. Sedan sales have plummeted, and it will be a mistake if they make this car just a sedan. One of the great things about telsa is the practicality of the luggage space. C’mon Caddy, don’t let tesla be the only risk taker.
I agree regarding the liftback, I hope that stays from the concept. Cadillac’s “Dare Greatly” was a stupid slogan when so much was just a safe copy of someone else’s car. Making the Escala with very few changes to the concept car would be truly daring greatly. I’m not sold on the fabric seating, and I’d like it to be a bit more angular, but otherwise it’s an impressive car.
I’d also like to see them match the upcoming Audi A8 in “active suspension” to yield a very smooth comfortable ride when desired. Though I think the exterior of the upcoming A8 looks terrible, especially the front end – it looks like a big fish puckering up for a kiss. The Escala, even as is, blows away the upcoming A8 in terms of exterior design.
I’ve been telling you for years Cadillac is going to destroy the automotive world. This is just one example! It’s coming!
What wrong Cadillac has liftback ? Audi A7 is liftback, It has been for many years. Audi has proved there is market who want to buy luxury liftback.
Yours truly included, but I want mine bigger than an ATS and smaller than an S-Class.
It just might be that the CT5 will end up a lift-back also 🙂
Why does it only have to be a lift gate? Why can’t it be a
2 door coupe
2 door liftgate
4 door sedan
4 door liftgate
This is great news. But what they really need is a full size CUV. Sport models of the CUVs. Better interiors. Not cheap out on things like auto dimming mirrors. More hybrid, plugin, EREV options for each model.
This is good news, but it will become better for the U.S. and China market if it also had an EREV option, as in the CT6.
As I’m certain this will be built on a CT6 architecture, all of the options you mentioned are already engineered.
This is fantastic news! I wish it would have been fast-tracked to production earlier than 2021, but I’ll take it. Interestingly, this would be about the same time that we would start to see a replacement to CT6. I’m curious how this will impact that model, and Cadillac’s sedan portfolio in general.
While I hope the production model is as close to concept form as possible, I expect we will see some changes in order to keep with the times and progress the design language. I just hope its big, close to concept form, ultra-luxurious, and keeps the sportback.
I think the Escala will replace the CT6.
No. CT6 will become an E-class car in its second gen. Probably will be slightly reduced.
CT7 – a large coupe. Probably will get its own name.
CT8(ESCALA) – sedan or a liftback, large cabrio. Or probably all of them.
I say you and Henry are wrong. The next generation CT6 will continue to remain in its current form as a large luxury sedan, but light years better than its current cycle.
I know that I might be off base.. but I see this car being better as A New 2021 Chevy Impala LTZ AWD TT V6 or 6.2L V8
Give me a cool, fun liftback and I’m in.
Sooner the better.
2 years to determine they have a winner and another 3 years to build. Nothing like striking when the fire is hot.
Like the Acura NSX.
Hope that they loose the has been head light. Baijun (spelling, opps) is already using them. I like the beams on XT4.
If this is true, I absolutely love it. The two Halo vehicles will have names. The Escalade for the SUV’s and the Escala for the Cars. Makes perfect sense.
Excellent news, if true!
I hope this is true!!! Cadillac needs a genuine flagship sedan! One that embodies all that the brand stands for and is capable of producing! More so than a supped up CUV or SUV; or even an exotic luxury sports coupe! If they get the Escala right, this can open the door for a really bright future for Cadillac: where they’ll return to tier-1 status, reclaim the respect and cache they’ve lost over the decades, and elevate the GM company as a whole!!!
I’m rooting for you Cadillac!
Scott Pruitt sure is an idiot of biblical proportions.
I’m really hoping we’ll have to navigate through a touch screen menu to set the fan and radio controls. Nothing says visceral driving experience like awkward, poorly implemented digital controls for mechanical systems.
Looks like I will have a Cadillac sedan in my future! Will it be offered as a 2 door?
CT7
Didn’t Tesla do pre-orders of some kind. Might not be a bad idea to separate the tire kickers. I’ll be ready for a nice CPO CT6 Plat by then to replace my XTS. Chicago auto show had the full red carpet Escala treatment and the lady promised the V8 is coming soon.
Too bad Cadillac is stuck with dealers and can’t sell direct like TSLA.
JDN, has said it’s flagship would not have four door’s to it, so what that means it will be either be a Five-Door lift back or a Two-door coupe. This fits with they will have a full line of crossover’s and new escalade suv, by 2020-2021. And Cadillac’s flagship will be all-electric.
That’s great news but December 2021 is almost five years away and the Escala concept is already 18 months old. Let’s hope what gets launched is akin to Escala 2.0.
More like 4 years but I am with you on that. Way too long from show to production. What ever it looks like and whenever it’s produced it has to be top tier in every way. They need to not just match the competition but leap frog them.
like all the prototype gm will screw the design it at the end ……
One has to wonder will the 2019-2020 Cadillac Escala feature the C8 Corvette’s Z06 engine or will it be electric; but being that the Escala will become Cadillac’s ‘halo’ car, the Escala V will feature 700-800 horsepower, possibly AWD and a base price of $90K.
Scott 3, I would say they are going too keep it as a Five Door-Lift Back, this going to be there top Flagship/supercar. I’ve said all along that Cadillac supercar/flagship will not be a mid-engine supercar, but a more of a five-door lift-back.
This is the best news to come out of GM in a long time. If it is to be taken seriously, Cadillac abosuluty needs a flagship to go against the Germans. Its also very obvious that neither the Germans or Japanese are letting go of luxo barge flagship sedans as evident by the brand new models coming out from Audi and Lexus.
If this story is true,,there is still hope for Cadillac after all.
The A8 will set the benchmark more so than the LS 500. Cadillac needs to watch the former very closely.
Yes it true, and this Cadillac flagship/supercar model.
Escala-Flagship/supercar/Five-Door-Lift-back, CT6-sedan, CT5- sedan, CT4- sedan/hatchback, XT3/XT4/XT5/XT6 new crossover’s, new escalade suv.
awesome. my only gripe with the escala is its rear. beautiful car until you look at it from behind. It looks like the stern of a cruise ship and honestly don’t really look good without a bumper. the rendering of the Ct6 with the escala lighting is gorgeous and has a much prettier rear end with a bumper and better placement of the license plate. just my opinion, but if this is true I hope it comes in the 5 door fast back design something like the audi A7 and the jaguar XJ. it needs to be a top of the line premium vehicle with 0 corners cut on technology and quality. it will look definitely look great next to the new escalade which I imagine will be gorgeous
XTS Cadillac is long gone, it will be out of here real soon, it was just lose change for a moment.
Maybe, but didn’t some of the Escala design cues filter down to the refreshed XTS? Hopefully they reflect in energized sales.
The XTS will be around a few more years, so it won’t be next year as a final year.
Gorgeous Design ? Lift back or Sedan, we are !!
I am seriously excited that they are hopefully going to give it a name, and not a batch of numbers…Especially with the dramatic link to the Escalade. I would also love to see the return of a luxury, yet sporty Coupe from Cadillac…a takeoff of the Mercedes S series Coupe, without quite as much gadgetry to implode, at the four year, 50,000 Mile mark ☺️
Thanks much Cadillac, this is Great News…
Good new here…if Cadillac ups the interior quality!
Hatchback looks great on paper….
The small details like the tiny Cadillac emblems incorporated in the grille are neat.
Escala can begin by offering features like the CT6, then expand with V-Luxury, V-Sport and V.
If well received, then the CT6 can be dropped and the replacements for CT3 + CT5 can be Escala3 + Escala5.
Maybe SUVs will become Excala#. 🙂
I hate to say it, but the Escala in profile looks a lot like the new Lexus LS500, and looks even more like the Audi A7. It also looks a good bit like an enlarged Tesla Model S. Now I think the Escala concept looks better than any of those, but with a 2021 model year, the design might look dated by the time of release, unless it will be changed a great deal before then. It’s not uniquely “Cadillac” looking.
I’m very happy to hear that this beautiful car is going into production. I will be making this purchasing . Thank you GM & Cadillac
Drew Cadillac could make the concept car exactly as shown and somebody will find something they don’t like about it.
Which is a joke! Because this car is a master piece!
Brian, I’m not saying that the Escala concept isn’t a nice looking car. I’m saying that it’s not looking particularly original at this point, and could look “tired” by 2021 when it’s introduced. If the Escala had just hit the dealers at the same time last year’s Oscar telecast ad was released (or better yet, the Super Bowl, with the same commercial there) then Cadillac could bring a lot of cachet to the brand as well as sales for the new vehicle.
But especially with the new Lexus LS500 profile looking so similar now to the Escala concept, Cadillac will be solidifying its position as a copycat brand, rather than the bold leader it used to be. I’m all for Cadillac putting the Escala into production, but if they have to wait until 2021 then I hope they’ll tweak the appearance to be more angular “Cadillac” and less Lexus/Audi copycat. Even though it’s nice looking for what it is, if you ignore the very similar looking models already on the market.
Being original that’s your argument! Look being original went out the door years ago. There are so many cars on the road you bound to stumble on a design that looks similar to something else!
I would love to go back to the days where a patent ment something and companies where punished serverly for coping another companies idea’s!
The fact is this does the car look good? Will people want to buy it?
Yes and yes
In thinking about this and knowing GM, I think this announcement is really meaningless. A production date of December, 2021 is four years away. Given what we know about development cycles for new vehicles, that would suggest that GM hasn’t even begun work on this product. Therefore, all we have is a “green light” to begin development of a Cadillac flagship sedan which we know from the past can, and usually does, not reach fruition. There was supposedly a Zeta-based flagship coming but it was canceled. There was a CT8 coming and a product above the CT8 that was rumored to be a super-Cadillac. Both were canned. CT6 even was rumored to be on the chopping block just a short time ago although de Nysschen seems to have saved it for now. My suspicion, however, is that de Nysschen will be canned long before 2021 and any grandiose plan for an “Escala” type car will go out the door with him; CT6 may well not survive either.
None of this is, of course, what I want to see. I’d love to see Cadillac finally manage to regain their lost cachet and indeed become the ‘pinnacle of premium’ as de Nysschen likes to say. However, history tends to repeat itself and GM’s Board has never shown much willingness to invest in products that can’t pay their way. Quite simply there likely won’t be much of a business case for an Escala if sedan sales continue to flatline. I expect more FWD CUVs and an updated Escalade are much more likely to be what Cadillac is launching come December of 2021 than anything remotely like Escala. Again, not what I want but we all know this company, know their past and I think knowing that, it would be foolish to get excited about this announcement.
If they do it it has to rival at least the Mercedes Mabach. A car to match the Rolls would be great but I don’t think Cadillac will be ready for that y 2021.
If this is true Cadillac may finally have an S-Class fighter , the CT6 is a fine automobile but just not up to that level .
I have seen the car and believe the design of the exterior can be built just like the concept . The interior is anybody’s guess as 2021 is 3+ years from now and technology is a fast moving train .
This is a gutsy move on GM’s part with car sales on the decline but can go a long way to boost their image . For years now Escalade is what has kept things from going south , and Cadillac is a car company after all .
They need to be serious about Escala and keep those bean counters away from the car . Cadillac has the means to go to a Tier 1 level , it is going to boil down to the parts suppliers to come up with the right parts for the car .
It’s true like I said before, and if is not true then why is these next gen omega chassis in place? Like now. It would be a 2021 model year.
Cadillac’s Escala needs to be perfect and has to be a world class sports sedan meaning the Escala V needs to want being the best in the world for it’s class.
Capitilizing on the Escalade’s brand equity. Brilliant, the name is money.
In my opinion and I have been saying this for years, Cadillac needs to ditch the sedan style vehicle and offer A7 hatchbacks for all their sedan replacement vehicles. Offer a 5 door A3 size car but with RWD, 5 door A4 size car but with RWD, 5 door A6 size car but with AWD, and the ESCALA 5 door Halo car. Then go crazy with up to 6 or even 7 CUV/SUV vehicles.
I have not heard of “AutoForecast Solutions” and don’t know how credible they are as a source before getting too excited unless I hear from the actual source itself who actually makes Cadillacs.
I’ll wait before I get too excited.
Front end is good but that arse end sags like an old crone. Needs to be more sporty if GM are ever to break out of their geezer demographic.
We still need an AWD Camaro. Once the ATS coupe is gone then GM will have nothing for those who want a sports car but aren’t wealthy enough to keep a winter garage queen. It’s strange how a Michigan company could fail to grasp this simple market reality.
Alternatively, Chevy could make an AWD version of the Camaro and then we wouldn’t have to pay a Cadillac premium for an all-year sports car. Hell, bring on a four door Camaro as well, just make it look cool instead of the current tasteless heap of tacky Transformers styling.
Above all, GM need to hire stylists of the same calibre as their engineers. Right now it’s like they went to high school job fairs to find stylists, or maybe they put together committees of accountants to design them. Oh GM have a few nice looking cars, for example the C7 is absolutely gorgeous, but most of them are just so tasteless and tacky.
Edit: “if Cadillac are ever to break out of their geezer demographic.”
Amazing car
Can’t wait!