Cadillac ‘Expressive Coupe’ Study Revealed As CT5, CT6 Design Inspiration

Long before a vehicle reaches the assembly line, designers head to the drawing board to create designs, sketches, and renderings that inspire future production models. The Cadillac Expressive Coupe is one of these design studies that never made it to production, but it’s easy to see how it influenced the design of real-life models that are offered by the luxury marque today – particularly the Cadillac CT5 and (likely the second-generation) Cadillac CT6.

The Cadillac Expressive Coupe is a design study that was “created as an internal exploration of Cadillac aesthetics,” according to a post from GM Design on social media. According to the post, the study served as a muse for the CT5 and CT5-V Blackwing, inspiring the luxury sedan’s horizontally oriented lighting elements running beneath the seam of the hood. On real-life models, these lighting strips house the turn signals and emergency flashers, while the headlights are positioned beneath them.

And though GM Design’s post doesn’t specifically mention the second-gen CT6 as being influenced by the Express Coupe study, we’d opine that it heavily impacted it, too.

In the case of the pre-refreshed CT5, the headlights are arranged horizontally, while the refreshed 2025 Cadillac CT5 gains stacked vertical headlights that are not reflected on the design study. In addition, the design study splits the vertical Daytime Running Light (DRL) signature into two parts, like on the pre-refreshed CT5, while the refreshed model adopts the uninterrupted design signature. The influence of the design study on the second-generation CT6 is noteworthy, with all elements lining up nearly perfectly, including the familiar five-point grille and triangular trim elements on either side of the front fascia.

A look at the rear end of the Cadillac Expressive Coupe reveals L-shaped taillights, which have become a staple of the luxury marque’s sedan design language.

Of course, there is one glaring difference between the Expressive Coupe study and the CT5 and CT6: the latter are four-door sedans, not sleek two-door coupes like the concept vehicle.

In fact, Cadillac Society was the first to report that the luxury marque had filed a design patent for a potential two-door CT5 coupe way back in 2018. This patent appears to either be the Cadillac Expressive Coupe or be heavily inspired by it.

While the coupe version never made it to production, it’s a good look at what could have been had Cadillac brought a coupe to market.

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