Cadillac is making big moves in the all-electric space with plans to launch the new Cadillac Celestiq, an ultra-luxury halo sedan packed to the gills with comfort features and cutting-edge tech goodies. Now, GM Authority spy photographers have caught the Cadillac Celestiq testing on public roads in prototype form.
Just last week, GM released photos of a Cadillac Celestiq prototype in starry camo testing on the roads around the automaker’s technical campus in Warren, Michigan, where the production vehicle will be hand-built in the future.
By contrast, the Cadillac Celestiq prototype featured here is covered in black-and-white camouflage, and was spotted rolling around on public roads in Metro Detroit. Up front, we see the slick front fascia adorned with production-spec lighting elements, including vertically oriented lighting signature lines in the flanks. There’s also a prominent square cutout in the middle of the fascia camo that provides a view for the various sensors located in the sedan’s nose.
Viewed from the side, we see this Cadillac Celestiq prototype running some rather large wheel covers to hide the alloys underneath. The wheels are shod in thin-profile rubber that fills the wheel arches nicely. The profile view also shows off the sedan’s short front overhang and extended rear overhang, the latter of which lends the EV an almost hatchback-like silhouette.
The rear of the vehicle terminates the ultra-wide C-pillar with a squared off rear fascia. This particular prototype is also equipped with rear placeholder lighting elements.
Although this Cadillac Celestiq prototype is covered in black-and-white camouflage, the general shape and lines are more than apparent, giving us a good idea what the halo Caddy will look like when it finally hits production.
Notably, GM just unveiled the Cadillac Celestiq Show Car last month, while also showing it in the metal at the recent Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California.
In addition to the eye-catching styling, the Cadillac Celestiq will also feature a wealth of features for entertainment, comfort, and convenience. Highlights include a Smart Glass roof with Suspended Particle Device technology (SPD), as GM Authority exclusively covered last October, as well as the GM Ultra Cruise system, offered as the next evolution in the automaker’s semi-autonomous driver assist portfolio, enabling hands-free driving in 95 percent of driving scenarios.
Under the body panels, the Cadillac Celestiq rides on the GM BEV3 platform, with GM Ultium battery tech and GM Ultium drive tech on hand for motivation. Sixty mph will arrive in just 3 seconds, while range-per-charge will be around 400 miles.
GM will release further details on the Cadillac Celestiq later this year. In the meantime, remember to subscribe to GM Authority for more Cadillac Celestiq news, Cadillac news, GM electric vehicle news, GM technology news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Comments
How does the Celestiq compare with imported luxury vehicles? I have seen the Mercedes Benz EQS close up, and it is not that big. The suggested retail price is $105,000 but with local import taxes it costs $140,000! BTW, the charge port is at the rear right side, so some drivers have to back it in for charging.
Isn’t that the base EQS. I saw 2 at the auto show this spring. The base was 105K, and sans big screen while the up level one with all the trimmings inside was 150 start. The interior of the base was meh, the up-level one had a pretty nice interior. Not sure what else came with the extra 45K.
Not even close to be in the same category. This will be over 350K
Someone, and I can’t remember who, measured the car based on the known wheel size and figured out that the wheelbase is longer than an S-class but the overall car is a few inches shorter than an S-class.
Cadillac can price the Cellistiq wherever they want but that won’t make it a $300,000. car. They should’ve learned that lesson well with the $75,000. ELR that nobody bought. The market will decide if it’s a car worthy of that figure.
Cadillac has a long history of over-pricing their halo cars so as to set them up to fail. They did this even when they still had a stellar reputation and revered brand; neither of which they still possess. A couple of examples are the 1958 Eldorado Brougham and the Allante’ from ‘87. Both were good products but they were priced way above what the market would pay so they were ultimately withdrawn. In the case of the Allante’, Cadillac had to cut the price and institute a guaranteed resale value program, among other things, because the consumers weren’t buying. It still failed though.
More recently Cadillac couldn’t sell the $53,000 to $90,000 CT6 premium sedan but now they’ve apparently concluded there’s a market for a $300,000 electric hatchback using all their standard issue Ultium components under the skin. Time will tell if it’s different this time.
This car is in a completely different league. At an expected production rate of 30-40 cars per month for the entire world, the entire production will be sold out before you even know it. This is purely a halo car to demonstrate the company’s capabilities. This is marketing pure and simple and not profit.
Cadillac can design stately, beautiful vehicles and Celestiq is definitely a unique design. Nonetheless, for me, nothing beats the low slung understated design & styling of Benz.
I get that this is a crossover but even Cadillac cars ride a little high for my taste. Audi E-Tron is fantastic.
This isn’t a Crossover… this is a full sized Sedan.
No it’s a knockoff cheap looking station wagon, I had high hopes for this vehicle but it’s been a complete let down.
HAHAHAHAHAHA
I think you lost touch.
Damn…that thing is massive. The wheelbase alone is huge, let alone the full body length.
The back is definitely polarizing, but you can’t deny that dash to axle ratio is something special. Especially looking from the rear in that one shot.
It’s refreshing to see caddy finally building a true flagship…now, they just have to execute. Big undertaking.
@G8Burnout
Agreed. I love the design inside and out
It’s designed in such a way that stretching it to limo length wouldn’t create any awkward lines.
Is that open side window frameless? It would be great if they could pull that off without wind noise.
The side mirrors appear unusually large, I guess because of the big C pillar.
Whats with all the camo? As if the car has not yet been seen in the flesh already.
The Show Car has been Shown. There will be changes between that and the final product. That’s why there is camo.
I doubt there will be anything major changed with its styling. Nothing obvious enough to capture one’s attention. What the camo does do is capture everyone’s attention right now, creating a mystery that stokes our curiosity and deepens our interest.
notice there is NO door handles to get inside the vehicle which is very odd. LOL…do you climb in & out of the windows
Just a Grade-A, quality take right here.
There are plastic touch buttons at the bases of the B and C pillars.
Well if you didn’t think that the rear of this was over-sized and bulky, then you would after looking at it with the camo on it. That is going to take some getting used to.
The other day in another article about this car, I gave the example of when Cadillac was introducing the 1980 Seville. At first, I hated that style and thought the end had come to Cadillac. I soon began to love that car and today feel it’s one of the most beautiful Cadillac’s (in the right color combo) ever made. So I’m going to give this Celestiq some time and see if it changes my mind. Who knows, with the price of them, maybe I’ll be able to afford one that’s 10 years old with 150K. lol.
Dan,
The 1980 Seville came at the end of Bill Mitchell’s reign as VP of design. It was his last significant work and he saw it as his swan song and wanted it to be memorable. His era had been a period of unmatched design triumph at the company and the Seville became the capstone. The Mitchell years are regarded now as a golden age for GM. Wayne Kady actually designed the ‘80 Seville but Mitchell gave him the direction and encouragement and championed it through the labyrinth GM approval process. Mitchell actually wanted the bustle-tail design used on the 1979 Eldorado but Cadillac management steadfastly refused. He didn’t give up though, he then directed Kady to develop a four-door Seville proposal with the unique trunk which was ultimately accepted and approved for production.
That was his brilliance; he knew good design and he fought tooth-and-nail for them. Mitchell also believed you had to keep reinventing (see ‘63 vs ‘68 Corvette) and you had to shock consumers at first. A design had to be so different that consumers wouldn’t tire of it over its life cycle. He did his work brilliantly and left us with many monumental automotive designs.
I too was shocked by that Seville as a young boy seeing it for the first time. I still remember my first sight of it and I too grew to appreciate it. I’m not sure there is a parallel today though. GM design hasn’t exuded brilliance in a long time or took any notable risks. I doubt the oddity that is the Cellistiq tail will ever grow to be loved. I’m certainly ready for the Simcoe era to end.
Ci2Eye: Well said. I agree that Mitchell’s designs were (IMO) superior to what we have today. It’s funny, because just 10 minutes ago an older Mercedes Benz (maybe 1965 or so) 2 door drove past my work and both myself and my co-worker noticed it. He’s in his latter 20’s and I’m in my mid 50’s. He drives a newer BMW and I have a newer Chevy. He prefers import brands and I American. But as different as we both are, we both immediately noticed and agreed that old MB was stunning. My comment to him was that few cars today give that same feeling and they all look the same. Even as non-Cadillac as my 1988 Cimarron is, I still look at it and see class and lines that I don’t see in any of today’s cars.
The Cimarron and the other J-Body’s were the first cars of the Irv Rybicki era. It seems to me there is a very clear delineation between the Rybicki period and Mitchell if you study them. Mitchell retired in 1977 so he’d worked on everything that launched through model year 1980 which, in those days would’ve arrived in the fall of 1979. That includes the spring of 1979 X-cars and, of course, his farewell car, the 1980 Seville. I’ve read that the ‘82 F-body replacements were delayed from their planned 1980 model year reveal so he’s credited with the major design-work for those as well. But everything else from 1981 forward was Rybicki.
What I see beginning in 1981 are cleaner, more European-like designs with the J-cars being an example of that. Sadly many were also awkwardly rendered and devoid of design drama. They were in many instances severely downsized too. GM’s big decline began in those days and they’ve never achieved the design leadership mantle again or the market success they enjoyed up until then.
As everyone knows, the 80s brought an era of design leadership from Ford under the tutelage of Jack Telnack. His aircraft-inspired aerodynamic themes most famously exemplified by the ‘86 Taurus/Sable set the tone during that period as GM fell increasingly behind. In the 1990’s Tom Gale over at Chrysler took the baton and America had another decade of sterling design typified by Chrysler’s magnificent LH cars. It all seems to be gone now but it was certainly fun to watch. Today we live in a sea of over-styled and forgettable silver CUVs.
John Keats said ‘A thing of beauty is a joy forever’. That old Mercedes you saw and many old cars continue to bring joy to both those who grew up with them and also to new generations. I still marvel at the total beauty of the 1963 Corvette and then, at the same time, love the stunning transformation to the 1968 design. They’re totally different but both enduring masterpieces. The Sevilles of Mitchell’s time are like that too. 1975 brought a landmark design that set the template for GM design for the next 15 years. But in 1980, they scraped it all and started again creating another milestone design still enjoyed and talked about today. Wayne Kady is still a little shell-shocked I think from all the critics but he shouldn’t be; with the ‘80 Seville, he created a thing of beauty.
As I said, that’s all gone now. As good as the C8 may be dynamically, it isn’t a car to mesmerize forever and I don’t believe the Cellistiq has that super star quality either. Nothing from GM today does.
Ci2Eye: You certainly have one up on me for the historical aspect of GM designs. I can relate to some of those names as I had started in sales in 1988 at a store with several GM brands. But my approach to all this is less technical than yours and more just from the gut thoughts I have. Although I have zero credibility in anything design-wise for cars, I do have a checkbook and I’m a buyer. That’s how I show my admiration or disdain for designs. I’m certainly not equating my 1988 Cimarron to some of GM’s best designs over the years, but I’m simply equating it to today’s bland designs.
Like you said: today we live in a sea of over-styled and bland SUV’s. Silver or not! haha.
I am seeing a lot of bustleback K Body Seville from the early 80’s here especially around the rear window glass and i am hear for it.
Just name this thing Sedan DeVille already… That would be a return to better things for Cadillac! I love the design.
Wow. That is seriously ugly.