The New Electric Cadillac Celestiq Turns Out World-Class Finishes and Technology
The new all-electric flagship sedan.
Cadillac has long made special cars, but the American luxury brand is going beyond its usual benchmark and delivering something world class with its new Celestiq. This new all-electric flagship sedan features a design consumer have dreamed about through concepts and sketches that exhibited the very best General Motors can engineer.
The EV is estimated to offer 483 kilometres of range, 600 horsepower, and 640 lb-ft of torque thanks to the Ultium Platform that also underpins the large-and-in-charge GMC Hummer EV. Compared to that rugged and cumbersome truck, the Celestiq is a sleeker interpretation of electric excellence. The sprint from 0–100 kilometres an hour is expected to take less than four seconds.
It will be quick but also smooth and agile for such a large sedan. It incorporates the latest version of the automaker’s Magnetic Ride Control, which helps the suspension respond immediately and isolates imperfections on the road to further smoothen the ride. The Active Roll Control will keep the ride flat and composed, and there’s also rear-wheel steering to help the big car manoeuvre in tight spots.
Although the platform has some common roots, other parts of the car are bespoke and special—the vehicle is hand-built rather than assembled on a line. To make the Celestiq, the automaker invested $81 million into the General Motors Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. The campus houses GM’s Additive Industrialization Center, where 115 3D-printed parts unique to the flagship sedan will be produced.
The American automaker says every Celestiq will be a custom -commission that expresses the owner’s taste. There are several hand-finished materials that make the Celestiq warm and inviting, and customers can even completely customize their car’s colour palette thanks to the seemingly infinite amount of options.
The highlight of the interior is the massive 55-inch screen that spans the dashboard. The automaker says the screen’s pixel density is comparable to an 8K TV. The Digital Blinds Active Privacy feature shades the passenger side of the display so the driver can’t see it and get distracted. For rear passengers, 12.6-inch screens mounted on the back of the front seats provide entertainment.
Another of the Celestiq’s highlights is the Ultra Cruise hands-free driving system, which is a step up from the Super Cruise system in other GM models. Unlike Super Cruise, which only works on the highway, Ultra Cruise operates in urban settings.
Expectations are that only about 400 units of this $300,000-plus car will be produced each year, making it clear that Cadillac wants to deliver a car on par with the very best in the industry. From what we can see, it’s on the right path.
