Evolution and art typically go hand in hand, especially in the automotive world. That’s especially true when it comes to Cadillac, which has seen its fair share of evolution over its 120-year history. Design and luxury served as the key pillars that defined Cadillac in its early years, with technology becoming a prominent theme as the decades rolled on. It’s these pillars that inspired Cadillac to embark on perhaps its most ambitious gamble yet, with the brand finally taking the veil off of the long-awaited Cadillac Celestiq ultra-luxury sedan.
A Package Embodying The Past And The Present
The Celestiq that GM unveiled to the world is not a full production version but instead is a near-production concept that serves as a subtle preview of what buyers can expect from this sleek four-door. While the rumors of the Celestiq having a formal hood ornament were greatly exaggerated, the sedan still manages to deliver the goods when it comes to driving home Cadillac’s recent focus on delivering vehicular art. The front fascia is a unique piece and is a noticeable departure from what we have seen on the Lyriq. The illuminated Cadillac logo is prominently placed in the center, while elegantly sculpted lines in the grille panel radiate out towards the fenders.
This trick is shared with the Lyriq, and we suspect that the intricate lighting that hides just behind the panel will give the Celestiq a distinctive nighttime presence. The side profile takes full advantage of its length and leads the eye to the rear of the car. It’s here where we see that Cadillac designers have paid attention to styling trends in Europe, with the Celestiq being the latest offering to embrace the liftback layout. In this case, this decision allows the taillights to have an elegant look and work nicely with the car’s contours. The overall look here is a nod towards the future, but at the same time, it brings back memories of the famous V-16-powered cars of the 1930s and the models that powered Cadillac’s second golden age in the 1950s.
Showstopping Interior Doubles Down On Technology
it will be interesting to see if the bulk of the interior carries over in the transition from spotlight-craving show car to production reality, but we hope that it all carries over intact because this is arguably the best Cadillac interior that we have seen in years. Before we get into what’s going on up front, we might as well talk about what rear passengers get, and there are plenty of strong Bentley vibes here.
The two rear seats are finished in high-quality leather that actually fades from red to black as you move up towards the headrest. The door-mounted seat controls are a nice nod to Mercedes models, while the center of the space features a rear screen with a prominent central controller. Sadly, it isn’t a removable unit like Bentley’s TSR screen but look for it to still shine like a large diamond when it comes to usability and technology. Lighting is also abundant here, with the rear door panels adorned in intricately placed LED lighting. But that pales in comparison to the sheer number of screens here, with the Celestiq packing five such screens inside its bespoke cabin. Our favorite, though, has to be the massive 55-inch diagonal LED screen that moves from one end of the dashboard to the other. The passenger portion of the screen also employs electronic blinds that allow the passenger to enjoy video and other streaming content without distracting the driver.
However, the highlight feature for us is arguably the Smart Glass Roof system which is the first time that GM has ever employed such a feature in one of its cars. The system splits the roof into four distinct panels with suspended particle technology, allowing occupants to hone and fine-tune the amount of lighting they receive in their roof section to improve visibility and comfort.
When Could We See The Production Celestiq?
While Cadillac’s release did a good job hyping up the Celestiq’s attributes as a rolling art piece, it stopped short of giving a rough timeline of when we could see the production version. However, with the appearance of this near-production concept, it’s safe to assume that we could see the production version of the Celestiq appear either towards the end of the year or perhaps early in 2023.
Either way, GM isn’t leaving things to chance with the Celestiq and will be hand-building the car at the GM Tech Center in Warren, Michigan. This is not the first time that GM has made a hand-built car (the Buick Reatta is a notable example), but the Celestiq will leave a footnote in history by being the first model to be built at GM’s Tech Center in Warren, Michigan. The car will also benefit from a recent $81 million dollar investment aimed at preparing the campus for the car’s production.
Carl Malek has been an automotive journalist for over 10 years. First starting out as a freelance photographer before making the transition to writing during college, his work has appeared on numerous automotive forums as well as websites such as Autoshopper.com.
Carl is also a big fan of British vehicles with the bulk of his devotion going to the Morgan Motor Company as well as offerings from Lotus, MG, and Caterham. When he is not writing about automobiles, Carl enjoys spending time with his family and friends in the Metro Detroit area, as well as spending time with his adorable pets.