Cadillac Celestiq debuts with price above $300,000, 300-mile range

With the Celestiq, Cadillac is taking a trip down the memory lane, back to the glorious days of coach built cars and bespoke creations. It wants to take on the best of the best with its bold plan to establish itself as the new Standard of the World.

Each Celestiq will be 100% individual, the company claims there will be no two cars alike. The order process is no longer your ordinary order - when you want to buy the Celestiq, you commission the build. That certainly takes the expectations to the next level.

It all starts at one of a handful of selected Celestiq dealers, personal concierge guides the customer through the process of liaising with the car designers. The whole process is meant to create a unique relationship between Cadillac and the customer.

Every bespoke car will have the Ultium technology behind it, the 111kWh battery pack and the AWD twin-motor setup with 600hp will be standard on all vehicles. The promised range is 300 miles or 483km and despite its size, Celestiq is rather brisk with the 0 to 60mph (98 km/h) sprint taking only 3.8 seconds. 868Nm of torque must have something to do with that.

Adaptive Air Suspension with Magnetic Ride Control are standard and so is the 3.5 degrees rear-wheel steering. The advanced AWD system can switch the front motors on and off when required, Active Roll Control is a similar system to the one found in the latest AMG EQE SUV and it helps to keep the car flat through the corners.

The active rear spoiler helps with aerodynamic efficiency, it activates at lower speeds and when the speed increases it changes its function to aid the balance. Cadillac made an interesting choice when it comes to tires - Michelin Pilot Sport EV will take care of comfort with a specially designed, for the Celestiq, tread pattern with self-sealing technology and foam inserts.

The ride will be quiet and comfortable but the 23” wheels and tires are a summer-only combo. To make up for this the wheels are available in unlimited choice of colors and the tires have been modified and come with a unique pattern.

Another first for Cadillac is the variable ratio electric steering. The company uses a similar system on its Blackwing editions of other models but the Celestiq gets a specially tuned and modified system that works together with the rear steering. Lexus uses a similar system on its RZ450e but it’s not as complicated. Having variable ratio that changes depending on the speed of the vehicle is a game changer - especially for a car this size.

Cadillac will use 3D printing to manufacture 115 parts for the Celestiq, its underbody will be made out of only 6 large sand-cast aluminum components and over 300 pieces of body structures will be made in a new process called Flex Fabrication which involves folding metal sheets and manipulating them into shapes required by the car’s design.

The interior of the Celestiq is where majority of bespoke services will be used, there are 450 LEDs throughout the cabin with a distinct 18 lighting animations. The leather in every car will be hand-wrapped, metalwork is all hand-finished. The color choices are unlimited when it comes to paint and the design team will endeavor to match client’s requests - meaning that unusual materials may find their way into the Celestiq.

Last but not least, is the infotainment and Cadillac is making sure the Celestiq sets the benchmarks here as well. The front 55-inch glass panel comes with two 8K screens built-in with the passenger side using the Active Privacy system to keep the driver focused on her or his screen. There is an additional 11-inch screen that takes care of the vehicle control and another one, 8-inch that duplicates its functions in the rear. There are two 12.6 inch screens at the back for the rear passengers.

The cameras in the car can be accessed via a new app, Google is built-in with a full suite of its services and the Fixed Smart Glass Roof saves space by not requiring any shades thanks to its variable light transmission. The roof is called Smart for a reason - it’s not revolutionary to have a roof that goes opaque or dark at the switch of a button these days. Celestiq has the biggest, single pane glass roof in the industry, with 4 individually controlled zones - each passenger can adjust the transparency as required.

Cadillac’s Ultra Cruise is present with all the hardware in place and ready for the 2024 OTA update that the company promises will unleash a full suite of autonomous driving. For now, apart from the usual L2 ADAS functions, the car will be able to fully park itself, with or without the driver behind the wheel and return to the driver when required.

No luxury electric car exists without a sound system and Celestiq brings its best game to the table. 38 speakers in the cabin, 3 additional outside, AKG Studio Reference Audio System tuned by audio engineers specifically for the Celesiq. 3 separate amplifiers with 30 channels for complete audio nirvana, with 3D Surround and vehicle noise canceling. There is the ubiquitous Vehicle Sound Enhancement system to compensate for the lack of engine noise.

To make the most of the sound system, all glass in the car is sound-insulated and is 7.5 mm thick - about twice as thick as the high-grade acoustic glass used for windshields on luxury cars.

There are just two more details left - the price and the availability. Well, Cadillac Celestiq will start north of the $300,000 - how far north, the official press release kept quiet about. That’s a base price without any of the bespoke options. Expect to see $500,000 once all the options are in and the taxes are calculated as well.

The availability will be limited, Cadillac plans to start production in December of 2023 and to be in chance of buying the Celestiq, prospective customers need to add their name to a waiting list which will be rather long and Cadillac already said that it’ll use a first-come first-serve basis - so no favors however important you may be.

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