Thanks to an unprecedented amount of customer interest in the upcoming battery-electric Cadillac Lyriq, the luxury marque has decided to open the order books for new models sooner than originally expected.
“Customer interest in the Lyriq is now so strong that we will forgo a new round of reservations and begin taking customer orders soon after the Debut Edition launches in March [2022],” said Mary Barra, CEO of Cadillac’s parent company, General Motors, in a letter to shareholders.
It’s true – the Cadillac Lyriq has already drawn quite a lot of attention, and it hasn’t even been released yet. In the U.S., Lyriq Debut Edition pre-order books filled up just 10 minutes after they opened. A short time thereafter, 5,000 individual customers reserved the luxury electric crossover in China. With that it mind, it makes sense that Cadillac decided to forgo the reservation process and simply begin producing vehicles to meet customer demand as soon as possible.
As a reminder, 2023 Cadillac Lyriq is the marque’s first-ever battery electric vehicle. The Debut Edition harnesses a 100.4 kWh lithium-ion Ultium battery pack and a single Ultium Drive motor mounted on the rear axle. The electric driveline is rated at 340 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque, and Cadillac estimates the Lyriq will have 300 miles of range from a full charge, despite the not-insignificant 5,610 pounds of weight riding on its chassis. The Lyriq is built on the BEV3 platform.
The Lyriq Debut Edition is only available in two colors: Satin Steel Metallic and Stellar Black Metallic. However, more colors will become available once the regular model launches. Additionally, while the Debut Edition is available exclusively with rear-wheel-drive, we expect all-wheel-drive along with at least one higher-performance variant, to become available in future models.
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