Cadillac used to be associated with performance.
In an effort to claw its way back to the top of the luxury heap, the U.S. automaker unveiled Monday the production Cadillac Celestiq, a hand-built, bespoke behemoth fastback sedan.
The vehicle will have a starting price of $300,000 and be built at GM's Global Technical Center in Michigan.
The company generated a lot of buzz since it unveiled the concept in July, and showed off the prototype at Pebble Beach this August.
The company has been making great performance and luxury cars for a long time, but it has failed to capture the American luxury market the way it wanted to. Cadillac's slogan for the last 41 years has been "Standard of the World." Previous sedans were designed to go after the better selling German vehicles.
Cadillac has a vehicle called the Celestiq. The company said it would only make 500 vehicles. According to Harvey, the company can make as many as two per week at the Warren Tech Center in Michigan.
The image is called "Abigail Basset."
Cadillac has a long history of hand-built custom coachwork that stretches to its very beginnings, and this is the first modern vehicle with an all-electric powertrain.
The Ultium battery technology is not the same as other GM vehicles.
Cadillac has been showing off the battery layout for two years, but no one asked about it, according to Tony Roma, the company's chief engineer.
The batteries are stepped across the under body of the vehicle. There is an additional battery pack under the middle of the vehicle that is similar to a transmission tunnel.
A two- motor, all-wheel-drive system is part of the EV architecture. According to GM, the Celestiq will be able to put out 600 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of Torque and get around 300 miles on a full charge.
The car will travel in around 3.8 seconds. According to the company, the Celestiq will gain as much as 78 miles of range in 10 minutes.
The metal on the vehicle adds to the already heavy weight. Most auto manufacturers make trim and interior bits out of lighter weight plastic and coat them in metal. The Cadillac Celestiq is different. During our preview, the executive chief engineer noted that it was intentional.
It's the flagship for Cadillac and we want it to be authentic.
The compound curve body panels, the aluminum steering wheel inlay, and the body-in-white were all made using a blend of Additive Manufacturing, Stamping and Casting.
It wasn't feasible for the project to use Additive Manufacturing until about a year and a half ago. Cadillac was able to use the technique in the build. There are 115 3D printed parts.
Cadillac has been able to offer more features due to the evolution of 3D techniques. We can cut your name or design into the steering wheel or metal piece under the vent. It isn't like I have a tool for it all, because we can just print it into the file.
The image is called GM.
"Packaging a good-looking body around all of the technology was one of the most challenging aspects of designing the Celestiq." The technology includes everything from the fixed glass roof that has four separate panels that can be individually turned opaque, patterned, or open, to the 55 inch diagonal screen that stretches across the dash of the Celestiq.
The latest in Super Cruise technology, GM's advanced driving assistance system that is as close to self-driving as is realistic, will be included in the Celestiq.
5 things you didn’t know about Cadillac’s $300,000 Celestiq EV
Ultra Cruise will be built on GM's Super Cruise and will allow for hands-free driving on mapped highways. Drivers will be able to drive hands-free in the city. The vehicle will be equipped with all of the necessary Ultra Cruise hardware in order to allow for feature growth via over-the-air updates.
Automatic remote parking will allow the driver to be out of the vehicle while letting the car park itself in a parallel or parallel space.
The company's vehicles are popular in China, and it's easy to see how the Celestiq may fit into the company's global ambitions.
The long, low roof and fastback design, with everything from retractable tray tables that nestle into the center armrest in the rear seat to individual screens at each seat, indicates that Cadillac is thinking about those buyers who prefer to be driven.
The representatives for Cadillac said thatCelestiq will first be available in the US. We will look at expanding to other global markets later in the product life cycle, including China and the Middle East.
The Celestiq will be built by Cadillac at the end of the year. Interested parties will connect with a concierge service that will either guide them through the designing process or use an in-house developed artificial intelligence to help them narrow down their options.
The starting price of $300,000 will be surpassed by the price of the Celestiq.
The price tag is out of reach for most car buyers, but Cadillac said that a lot of the technology used in the development of the Celestiq will show up in more attainable vehicles as well. The manufacturing techniques, as well as some of the packaging and technology, is likely to show up in future Cadillac vehicles.
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