Cadillac Celestiq concept: attack on EQS and i7

Anyone who thinks that you will only be able to knock on the door of the German brands for electric top limousines is wrong. For example, the Lucid Air came from the American corner, but you can also knock starks at Cadillac. In the form of this Cadillac Celestiq concept, we get to see how the luxury brand of General Motors is going to tackle this.

In any case, Cadillac goes its own way in terms of design. The Cadillac Celestiq looks like a liftback, the seams at the tailgate also indicate that it can go up in its entirety with the rear window, but Cadillac itself speaks of a sedan. In any case, it looks special and very different from said EQS and i7. That applies to many things. Cadillac loads the Celestiq with typical Cadillac features, such as the narrow and elongated taillights, but also a futuristic yet distinctive Cadillac front, which seems to consist almost entirely of an imitation grille. However, the Celestiq does not have a real grille, as it is an EV.

Ultramodern interior

The interior of the Celestiq is at least as striking as the exterior. Here it is ultra-modern, although it also has a bit of a retro edge thanks to numerous chrome accents. The steering wheel also contributes to this. What you’ve obviously never seen in a Cadillac before is the insanely large screen that takes up almost the entire dashboard. A whopping 55-inch copy. No, not a unit consisting of several screens like Mercedes’ Hyperscreen, but really one continuous screen. If desired, thanks to a kind of privacy filter, this can function in such a way that the passenger can look at it without the driver being able to watch. Very nice if you don’t want to be distracted by the movie your passenger is watching.

The dashboard screen is of course not the only screen, because in total you will find no less than five screens in the Celestiq. There is also a touchscreen on the center tunnel in the front, with which you can operate the screen in the dashboard. In the back, you look out from the spacious-looking seats on two screens that hang from the front seats and here too there is a touchscreen in the middle. On this you can not only call up the data you want to see on the screen, but also tinker with your seat settings. Just like in the front, a physical rotary knob is also present to scroll through the various menus. If you look up, you will see an almost completely glass roof. No conventional glass, but ‘Smart Glass’, which can be completely darkened, among other things, to still get a ‘closed’ sky. You can also adjust the lighting in the roof over four different zones.

Technical specifications a mystery

Unfortunately, up to now it is still mainly looking at pictures and we have to do it with limited information and technical information. Cadillac does let go that the fully electric Celestiq, as we already knew, is on the modular Ultium platform. So, unlike the BMW i7, there will be no version with combustion engines. Count on a range that exceeds 600 km to be able to provide the i7 and EQS with a rebuttal. You can also logically count on versions that are at least 500 hp strong.

The Cadillac Celestiq can of course also be used autonomously. This is possible thanks to General Motors’ Ultra Cruise, with which it wants to compete with Tesla’s FSD, among other things. GM promised last year that you should be able to go completely ‘hands-free’ through traffic, including on secondary roads and in the city.

We expect more information about the Cadillac Celestiq, and especially the production version, this year. It will probably take at least until well into 2023 before the first production Celestiqs hit the road. In Europe we do not have to expect the Celestiq for the time being, although General Motors openly flirts with the idea of ​​​​serving the European market with EVs.