The most effective components of being at Monterey Automobile Week is simply driving across the peninsula and carspotting. You’ll see every part from Ferrari 250 GTOs and unrestored pre-war Bugattis to model new hypercars and one-off ideas casually sitting in visitors or in parking tons. It’s actually unbelievable. However this yr, the automobile I noticed that had me probably the most excited was a metallic yellow electrical Cadillac.
I used to be driving by means of Pebble Seashore with a pal once we handed by a parking zone connected to some sports activities fields, the place this Cyber Yellow Celestiq was sitting within the shade beneath some bushes. I yelped and pulled a completely authorized U-turn so I might park and test it out, and fortunately the driving force, a member of the Basic Motors design group, graciously opened the automobile up and chatted with us about it.
I’ve been obsessive about the Celestiq since the near-production prototype was unveiled in 2022. I simply assume it’s an outstanding piece of design, particularly after recognizing a vibrant pink one (with a white and blue inside!) in my resort valet at Automobile Week final yr, the primary time I had seen one in individual. Many individuals say the Celestiq simply appears like a stretched Lyriq — that’s simply how a design language works, guys — however in individual you’d by no means mistake one for the opposite. The Celestiq is large, about half a foot longer than an Escalade, and it has dramatic proportions and exaggerated lights and particulars. I like that lengthy rear overhang, fastback form and glass hatch; the entire thing has complete French vibes. The drama is enhanced by an outrageous shade like this metallic yellow, although the Celestiq additionally appears nice in darker, classier shades.
Sadly, this Celestiq had a really tame inside, with black leather-based and accents of aluminum and heat matte-finish wooden. I feel the cabin nonetheless appears fairly particular even on this fundamental spec, nevertheless it’s significantly better suited to a brighter shade scheme with extra distinction. You really want the screens to be on to get the complete impact, too. However at the same time as a prototype in a less-than-ideal spec and setting, all of it appears very properly completed.
The Celestiq additionally sounds very cool. I’m all for EVs getting synthetic noises, whether or not they be aping an inner combustion motor or a sci-fi spaceship, and at low speeds the Celestiq emits a pedestrian-warning sound that’s distinct and recognizable. It’s sort of like a sound bathtub, or a frequency made by a theremin, and I feel it fits the design ethos of the automobile properly.
Sadly, I’ve solely seen this yellow one and that pink one final yr, regardless of Cadillac having practically half a dozen driving round Monterey this yr and others getting proven off at varied occasions over the previous few years. Earlier in the summertime I missed a neon inexperienced check automobile in downtown Detroit by 5 minutes, and that data practically ruined my journey. It’s onerous to consider the final new automobile that I’ve yearned to identify this a lot.
As soon as deliveries of the $340,000 Celestiq begin later this yr, it’ll stay a uncommon sight, although hopefully residing near Beverly Hills I’ll see greater than most individuals. Cadillac says it could solely hand-build a pair Celestiqs per day at its Technical Heart in Warren, Michigan, understanding to only a few hundred annually. Each can be completely bespoke when it comes to spec, too. For example of the customization potential, one buyer, an expert athlete, had their participant quantity engraved all through the automobile, in response to Automobile and Driver. And earlier than you say “who’s gonna spend that a lot on an costly electrical Cadillac,” the primary 18 months of manufacturing had been already bought out by the tip of 2022.
Again within the Nineteen Fifties by means of the ‘70s, Cadillac was identified for gigantic, ostentatious automobiles like the enduring Eldorado Biarritz, which was slathered in chrome and wild design components like tail fins and rocket-esque bumpers. The 1959 Biarritz price $7,401 when new, nearly 4 occasions the typical price of a brand new automobile that yr. I see the Celestiq as being in the identical vein as these classics. It’s huge, it’s controversial, it’s costly, it’s showy, it’s inconceivable to mistake for anything — therefore why Cadillac introduced again its Goddess mascot for the automobile. Positive, I want Cadillac would have made automobiles like the Sixteen and Ciel, however we needs to be completely happy the Celestiq exists. It’s an idea made actual, precisely the kind of flagship that I feel Cadillac wants.
The Celestiq isn’t the one such flagship automobile that Cadillac is engaged on, both. At Automobile Week it unveiled the Sollei, a two-door convertible based mostly on the Celestiq with an inside produced from mushrooms. Whereas billed as only a idea, it appears like Cadillac might simply put it into manufacturing — one of many advantages of utilizing a skateboard EV platform. Past simply with the ability to, it looks as if Cadillac desires to begin promoting limited-run automobiles just like the Sollei, as evidenced by it being introduced across the peninsula to impress potential patrons. One morning, it was proudly parked in my resort’s valet, getting simply as a lot consideration because the Bugattis throughout from it.
