Among the best elements of being at Monterey Automotive Week is simply driving across the peninsula and carspotting. You’ll see every thing from Ferrari 250 GTOs and unrestored pre-war Bugattis to model new hypercars and one-off ideas casually sitting in site visitors or in parking tons. It’s actually unbelievable. However this yr, the automotive I noticed that had me probably the most excited was a metallic yellow electrical Cadillac.
I used to be driving by means of Pebble Seashore with a buddy once we handed by a parking zone hooked up to some sports activities fields, the place this Cyber Yellow Celestiq was sitting within the shade beneath some bushes. I yelped and pulled a very authorized U-turn so I might park and test it out, and by chance the motive force, a member of the Normal Motors design group, graciously opened the automotive up and chatted with us about it.
I’ve been obsessive about the Celestiq since the near-production prototype was unveiled in 2022. I simply suppose it’s an exceptional piece of design, particularly after recognizing a shiny purple one (with a white and blue inside!) in my resort valet at Automotive Week final yr, the primary time I had seen one in individual. Many individuals say the Celestiq simply appears to be like like a stretched Lyriq — that’s simply how a design language works, guys — however in individual you’d by no means mistake one for the opposite. The Celestiq is large, about half a foot longer than an Escalade, and it has dramatic proportions and exaggerated lights and particulars. I really like that lengthy rear overhang, fastback form and glass hatch; the entire thing has whole French vibes. The drama is enhanced by an outrageous colour like this metallic yellow, although the Celestiq additionally appears to be like nice in darker, classier shades.
Sadly, this Celestiq had a really tame inside, with black leather-based and accents of aluminum and heat matte-finish wooden. I believe the cabin nonetheless appears to be like fairly particular even on this fundamental spec, but it surely’s significantly better suited to a brighter colour scheme with extra distinction. You really want the screens to be on to get the complete impact, too. However whilst a prototype in a less-than-ideal spec and setting, all of it appears to be like very effectively completed.
The Celestiq additionally sounds very cool. I’m all for EVs getting synthetic noises, whether or not they be aping an inside combustion motor or a sci-fi spaceship, and at low speeds the Celestiq emits a pedestrian-warning sound that’s distinct and recognizable. It’s type of like a sound bathtub, or a frequency made by a theremin, and I believe it fits the design ethos of the automotive effectively.
Sadly, I’ve solely seen this yellow one and that purple one final yr, regardless of Cadillac having almost half a dozen driving round Monterey this yr and others getting proven off at varied occasions over the previous few years. Earlier in the summertime I missed a neon inexperienced check automotive in downtown Detroit by 5 minutes, and that data almost ruined my journey. It’s arduous to think about the final new automotive that I’ve yearned to identify this a lot.
As soon as deliveries of the $340,000 Celestiq start later this yr, it’ll stay a uncommon sight, although hopefully residing near Beverly Hills I’ll see greater than most individuals. Cadillac says it may well solely hand-build a pair Celestiqs per day at its Technical Heart in Warren, Michigan, understanding to just some hundred annually. Every one will likely be completely bespoke when it comes to spec, too. For instance of the customization potential, one buyer, knowledgeable athlete, had their participant quantity engraved all through the automotive, in line with Automotive and Driver. And earlier than you say “who’s gonna spend that a lot on an costly electrical Cadillac,” the primary 18 months of manufacturing had been already bought out by the tip of 2022.
Again within the Nineteen Fifties by means of the ‘70s, Cadillac was identified for gigantic, ostentatious automobiles like the long-lasting Eldorado Biarritz, which was slathered in chrome and wild design components like tail fins and rocket-esque bumpers. The 1959 Biarritz value $7,401 when new, virtually 4 occasions the common value of a brand new automotive that yr. I see the Celestiq as being in the identical vein as these classics. It’s massive, it’s controversial, it’s costly, it’s showy, it’s inconceivable to mistake for anything — therefore why Cadillac introduced again its Goddess mascot for the automotive. Certain, I want Cadillac would have made automobiles like the Sixteen and Ciel, however we ought to be completely satisfied the Celestiq exists. It’s an idea made actual, precisely the kind of flagship that I believe Cadillac wants.
The Celestiq isn’t the one such flagship automobile that Cadillac is engaged on, both. At Automotive Week it unveiled the Sollei, a two-door convertible primarily based on the Celestiq with an inside constituted of mushrooms. Whereas billed as only a idea, it appears to be like like Cadillac might simply put it into manufacturing — one of many advantages of utilizing a skateboard EV platform. Past simply with the ability to, it looks like Cadillac needs to start out promoting limited-run automobiles just like the Sollei, as evidenced by it being introduced across the peninsula to impress potential patrons. One morning, it was proudly parked in my resort’s valet, getting simply as a lot consideration because the Bugattis throughout from it.
