Cadillac has just released a teaser video of the upcoming Cadillac Celestiq show car. Those not obsessively following all things Cadillac like we do here at Cadillac Society should note that the Celestiq is an upcoming full-size sedan with a battery electric drivetrain that will serve as the marque’s flagship vehicle.
There are several hints as to the new vehicle’s shape, which does indeed seem to resemble the Escala concept revealed at the 2016 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. However, most of the video is devoted to the roof of the Celestiq show car.
The Celestiq is, in Cadillac’s words, “expected to be one of the first to feature a four-quadrant, suspended-particle-device smart glass”. Each of the four occupants can adjust the transparency of the section of glass above their heads.
No technical details are given, but it could very well be that a small electric charge arranges the suspended particles in an order that prevents all the available light from entering the vehicle.
The Cadillac Celestiq is also seen to have a front digital display panel extending the entire width of the cockpit that even puts the huge screen in the 2021 Escalade. The screen has what Cadillac describes as “active privacy”, allowing the front passenger to view parts of the screen without distracting the driver. Rear-seat passengers have their own personalized entertainment screens.
“Designed to set a new standard for luxury EVs, the Cadillac Celestiq show car embodies Cadillac’s commitment to reimagine what’s possible in design and technology,” the marque explains in a press release. “The Celestiq imparts immersive, personalized and ultra-luxurious mobility experiences that reward the senses and inspire extraordinary journeys.”
Cadillac adds that the Celestiq, which will be based on the new BEV3 platform and will use Ultium battery technology, “is headed into production in the near future”. The Cadillac Celestiq will be mostly hand-built, and to be priced at around $200,000.
Our understanding is that it will be the last of six new Cadillac EVs due to go on sale between now and the end of 2025.
The first of those six models will be the Lyriq crossover, which will launch nine months ahead of schedule in the first quarter of 2022. It will be followed, in an order yet to be specified, by two more crossovers called Optiq and Symboliq, an electric version of the fifth-generation Escalade full-size SUV and a mixture of a sedan and a crossover coupe known so far only as the “low-roof” EV.
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