The Cadillac Celestiq is a dramatic electric hatchback that serves as the centerpiece of the brand’s ambitious plan to regain its status as the “Standard of the World.” The Celestiq concept was unveiled with futuristic lines and features, yet with nods to the brand’s past. The production model will feature an all-wheel-drive electric powertrain and will be built by hand in limited quantities at GM’s Warren, Michigan Technical Center. Buyers will also have the opportunity to customize their cars to their liking. Cadillac is taking a page from the Rolls-Royce playbook and will use a small team of craftspeople to hand-build each Celestiq onsite at GM’s Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. This is not the first hand-built Cadillac, but it will be the first production vehicle built on the company’s engineering and design campus since 1956. The production version of the Celestiq is expected to debut as a 2025 model and it is a pleasant surprise that, according to Cadillac, the concept you see here is essentially production intent. The Celestiq’s design is a blend of modern and vintage, with a low-roof four-door silhouette and retro-future motif. The car’s cabin is where digital and analog meet the most, with a 55-inch curved display stretching across the dashboard. The Celestiq’s luggage compartment is open to the rear seats without a bulkhead, which required engineers to find a way to reduce road noise from entering the passenger compartment. The electric powertrain eliminates the traditional burble of a gasoline engine, allowing engineers to focus on dampening other noises instead. The Celestiq is Cadillac’s most ambitious project in modern times and the brand is pinning high hopes on it to live up to its “Standard of the World” slogan from last century.
Photos: Caddilac
