Among the best elements of being at Monterey Automobile Week is simply driving across the peninsula and carspotting. You’ll see the whole lot 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 heaps. It’s actually unimaginable. However this yr, the automotive I noticed that had me essentially the most excited was a metallic yellow electrical Cadillac.
I used to be driving by way of Pebble Seashore with a pal once we handed by a car parking zone connected to some sports activities fields, the place this Cyber Yellow Celestiq was sitting within the shade beneath some bushes. I yelped and pulled a completely authorized U-turn so I may park and test it out, and fortunately the motive force, a member of the Common Motors design staff, 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 assume it’s an exceptional piece of design, particularly after recognizing a brilliant crimson one (with a white and blue inside!) in my lodge valet at Automobile Week final yr, the primary time I had seen one in particular person. 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 particular person 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 complete French vibes. The drama is enhanced by an outrageous shade 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 primary spec, but it surely’s significantly better suited to a brighter shade scheme with extra distinction. You actually need the screens to be on to get the total impact, too. However whilst a prototype in a less-than-ideal spec and setting, all of it appears to be like very properly 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 sort of like a sound bathtub, or a frequency made by a theremin, and I believe it fits the design ethos of the automotive properly.
Sadly, I’ve solely seen this yellow one and that crimson 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 take a look at automotive in downtown Detroit by 5 minutes, and that data almost ruined my journey. It’s arduous to consider 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 dwelling near Beverly Hills I’ll see greater than most individuals. Cadillac says it will possibly solely hand-build a pair Celestiqs per day at its Technical Middle in Warren, Michigan, figuring out to only a few hundred annually. Every one can be completely bespoke by way of spec, too. For example of the customization potential, one buyer, knowledgeable athlete, had their participant quantity engraved all through the automotive, based on Automobile 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 top of 2022.
Again within the Nineteen Fifties by way of the ‘70s, Cadillac was identified for gigantic, ostentatious automobiles like the enduring Eldorado Biarritz, which was slathered in chrome and wild design parts like tail fins and rocket-esque bumpers. The 1959 Biarritz price $7,401 when new, nearly 4 occasions the common price 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 unimaginable 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 blissful 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 car that Cadillac is engaged on, both. At Automobile Week it unveiled the Sollei, a two-door convertible primarily based on the Celestiq with an inside made out of mushrooms. Whereas billed as only a idea, it appears to be like like Cadillac may 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 desires to begin promoting limited-run automobiles just like the Sollei, as evidenced by it being introduced across the peninsula to impress potential consumers. One morning, it was proudly parked in my lodge’s valet, getting simply as a lot consideration because the Bugattis throughout from it.
