2024 Cadillac Celestiq EV Ramps Up American Luxury With $300K Price Tag
Each model will be personally commissioned, ensuring something truly unique.
There's luxury, and then there's luxury. When Cadillac first revealed the massive -- and massively opulent -- Celestiq electric sedan, the automaker said it would be a hand-built affair with a great deal of customization for each owner. Now that the production version has been unveiled, it looks like Cadillac is about to embark on one of its most impressive journeys yet.
The process
Before the Celestiq ever makes it to a driveway, a prospective owner has a whole lot of decisions to make. Each vehicle is built as a personal commission, meaning the owner has control over a vast number of personalization options, which means no two Celestiqs should be alike. The lucky buyer will create their Celestiq with the help of their dealer of choice, in addition to a one-on-one concierge and a Cadillac designer.
To that end, no two Celestiqs should cost the same, either -- Cadillac only gave an estimate on the car's price, saying that it starts "north of $300,000" and will increase based on each owner's choices during the build process.
Once those tough decisions have been made, it's time to actually build the car. As we already knew, each Celestiq will be hand-built at GM's Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. Only six will be built at a time, and the manufacturing process will take place in an area Cadillac calls the Artisan Center, where only those working on the car will be allowed.
The result
The transition from show car to production car didn't change much about the Celestiq. It still has a massive presence, and the footprint to match. See that shiny material adorning the exterior? Yep, that's real metal. Aluminum makes its way to the grille, trunk lining, rocker panels, lighting trim and fenders. The "flying goddess" hood ornament from Cadillacs of yore now resides in the fender, in a special bit of crystal that allows LED light to shine through.
In addition to the LED ring around the charger, owners can get charging status indications from the headlights and taillights.
LED lighting plays a big part in the whole Celestiq experience. Over 1,600 individual diodes are used on each car. The headlights and taillights show charging status at a glance, and there's a whole show that takes place every time a key fob gets within 15 feet of the Celestiq, starting at the grille's Cadillac emblem and working its way around the grille to the headlights.
In addition to the light-based dog-and-pony show, Cadillac will fit each Celestiq with a four-zone electrochromic glass roof, which combines ambient lighting and suspended-particle technology for an impressive overhead show. That's probably best seen from inside the vehicle, which is accessed through a button, since there are no visible door handles.
The interior looks practically unchanged from the show car, which is great, because it's a stunner. While the model shown off here carries a vibrant shade of blue across nearly every piece of leather, a buyer will obviously be able to tailor the interior to their personal aesthetic. Hand-finished metalwork is everywhere, and the more complicated components were created using 3D printing. But since no two Celestiqs will be alike, there's a great deal of customization not only in terms of color, but in the materials used, as well.
Whether you're looking at the leather or that massive display, the Celestiq's interior is a proper stunner.
The star of the show in the Celestiq is the positively massive 55-inch high-definition display that spans that entire width of the dashboard. The driver side offers access to the usual vehicle information, while passengers will be allowed to connect devices and play media from their side of the screen. An 11-inch screen rising from the center console takes on traditional climate-control and other ancillary duties, while rear passengers have access to not one, not two, but three displays -- there's an 8-incher between the seats, but each rear passenger also gets a 12.6-inch screen attached to the front seatbacks.
If you dig a quality sound system, you're in luck. The Celestiq comes with a 38-speaker AKG Studio Reference audio system with three amplifiers covering 30 channels. The powertrain should sound pretty sweet, too, thanks to a library of sounds that provide a unique touch on EV operation. That last bit works not just in the cabin, but outside the vehicle, as well.
What lies beneath
Now that we've covered what you can see, let's talk about what you can't see. The Celestiq uses GM's Ultium battery-electric platform, which already underpins a couple models and will be used on many more EVs to come. A pair of electric motors, one at each end, combine for a net 600 horsepower and 640 pound-feet of torque, enough to send this large luxo-barge to 60 mph in just 3.8 seconds.
3D-printed elements can be found in various corners of the car.
The Celestiq packs a 111-kilowatt-hour battery good for a GM-estimated 300 miles of range. One-pedal driving will let owners get the most for their electrons, but when it comes time to actually charge, the Celestiq will accept up to 200 kilowatts of juice from DC fast chargers, which can add about 78 miles of range in 10 minutes.
Adaptive air suspension should make for quite the cushy ride, and that combines with GM's magnetorheological tech to react to road imperfections with impressive speed. 3.5-degree rear-axle steering will reduce the turning circle and boost agility at speed. Active antiroll bars should keep unwanted body lean at bay, while an active rear spoiler will deploy at various speeds to boost aerodynamics and keep the vehicle feeling planted.
We're pretty stoked to take this for a spin.
Finally, there's Ultra Cruise. The Celestiq will be the first GM vehicle to pick up this technology. Essentially, it's a hopped-up version of the already excellent Super Cruise Level 2 hands-free driver aid, with the ability to operate beyond divided highways, extending those aids to city streets and beyond. However, GM is a little cagey about when this will be available, only saying in its release that each Celestiq will "be equipped with all of the necessary Ultra Cruise hardware to enable incremental feature growth via over-the-air updates in 2024." So it may take a while for the Ultra Cruise to get up to speed, so to speak.
That's a whole lot of impressive technology in one car, but given the Celestiq's six-figure price tag, it shouldn't come as a surprise. If you're looking to add one of these to your collection, you'll want to act fast; availability is by wait list only, and Cadillac won't make a trillion of these. Production is slated to kick off in December 2023.
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