GM Design Team Releases Fifth-Gen Cadillac Escalade Sketch
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The GM design team shared a post on its official Instagram page last week showing a sketch that was completed during the development of the current, fifth-generation Cadillac Escalade full-size SUV.
This sketch was done by Cadillac lead exterior designer Robin Krieg and is dated as being from 2017, so it seems as though this sketch was completed very early in the fifth-generation Cadillac Escalade’s development. We probably could have figured that out even if the illustration was not dated, though, as it has a much different look than the finished product that ended up debuting on February 4th, 2020. Compared to the production Cadillac Escalade, the vehicle in this sketch has a much higher beltline, a narrower greenhouse section and oversized alloy wheels. This sketch also does away with the notch in the beltline – a semi-controversial design cue on GM’s latest full-size SUVs that we covered in an article published last month.
Some design cues seen on this sketch actually ended up making it to the production vehicle, however. The front fascia, for example, appears to have a similar narrow headlight design and the same tall, vertically-mounted LED daytime running lights. The production Cadillac Escalade also has a similarly-shaped domed hood that comes to a point in the middle and similar vertically-mounted LED taillights. Lastly, the current Cadillac Escalade is also offered with similar 10-spoke alloy wheels.
Sales of the Cadillac Escalade were up 123.12 percent year-over-year last quarter, rising from 4,538 units in Q3 2020 to 10,125 units in Q3 2021. While this year-over-year leap was partly due to low 2020 sales from the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers have also responded positively to the updated Escalade, which features a redesigned exterior and an overhauled cabin with a 32-inch OLED display screen. As a result, the Escalade has been one of the fastest-selling new vehicles this year and consistently commands some of the highest average transaction prices in the full-size luxury SUV segment.
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EV version maybe? proportions look great… Even better then the Rivian R1S from the side…
Better then the R1S? Naw your tweaking.
R1S is not exactly a looker, especially from the front. My wife and her female colleagues (who are all tech executives) who mostly drive Range Rovers say the front of the R1S is a No Go, I ordered one and my wife said she will not drive it. It’s the bug eyed “stadium lighting” that turns off the female Range Rover driving, Hermes handbag carrying crowd. It was so resounding in my wife’s circle, with several of them texting me an “LOL…” I think R1S looks OK, not beautiful, not ugly. I like the proportions on this rendering better other than the exaggerated wheels.
Hey buddy did you see BrightDrop is starting their deliveries? Pretty cool if you ask me. I hope I get to see one in person soon I live fairly close to a huge FedEx distribution center so fingers crossed.
Maybe Rivian is going for an adventurous crowd and doesn’t care what divas think.
Rivian is geared towards the Range Rover crowd, look at capabilities, dimensions, and interior, its quite clear who Rivian’s target was. Read just about any Rivian review and you see “targeting Range Rover” in nearly all of them. Why Not? Range Rover is the king of this segment in the premium class. We have bough 6 or 7 Range Rovers over the years, enough that we are personal friends of the local dealership owner, and I can tell you the Rivian store opening right across the street from his JLR store does not make him excited.
Gotta wonder what your wife’s friends think of the CyberTruck.
Seems Volvo
Another design sketch with ridiculously over-sized wheels, absurdly high belt line, and gun-slit green house with minimal outward visibility. C’mon, man, surely GM Design can do better than that!
That’s how all design sketches start out. The artists just assume that 28 inch wheels and a foot high greenhouse look really hot. They are not concerned about practicality at that point, just a “vision”. Then the engineers step in and bring it back into the real world.
The wheels are oh so ghetto.
The window chrome treatment is much better executed on this drawing as opposed to the ham-fisted c-pillar element that went into production.
Looks like a Z71/ZR2 Tahoe or a GMC AT4X rather than a Cadillac. I get the feeling of “lifted low rider” with the huge wheels and next to non-existent low profile tires. To be honest, there’s a version or two of the Caddy grille that I’m not overly fond of either, but I’d have to say I feel it looks better than the Rivian IMHO.
Nothing special about the styling with the sketch. The belt line notch on today’s 5th gen Escalade gives it a central focus point which helps add interest to the overall design.
You mean the correction line?