About two years ago, Cadillac let slip that it was working on a hand-built flagship electric sedan that will exemplify exactly what Cadillac wants as it leans into electrification. Since then, we’ve been treated to a few teasers, and now we know where it will eventually get built.
Cadillac this week announced that it will build the Celestiq EV at GM’s Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. Since the site isn’t already set up to build a high-dollar electric car by hand (that’d be pretty weird if it was), Cadillac also said it was investing $81 million in Warren to get everything ready to go.
While Cadillac has not yet said when it will begin building the Celestiq, we do know a few other things about this forthcoming range-topping sedan. The Celestiq will use GM’s Ultium EV platform, which currently underpins the GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac’s own Lyriq electric SUV. The car carries some interesting design elements, including a fender badge that throws it back to 1930s hood ornaments. It’ll also be the first GM vehicle to wield Ultra Cruise, an advanced driver aid that basically applies Super Cruise to city streets and other non-highway roads.
But wait, there’s more. The Celestiq will use “smart glass” in its roof, allowing occupants to adjust the transparency across four individual quadrants, in case the rear passengers want more sun than those up front. The dashboard will feature a pillar-to-pillar display, including something Cadillac calls “active privacy” to reduce distraction, which could be similar to Mercedes-Benz’s passenger screen setup, which disables itself when the car’s eye-tracking camera notices a distracted driver. Finally, the Celestiq will contain over 100 3D-printed parts, the most of any GM production vehicle to date.
The Celestiq will first be revealed in “show car” concept form, and that’ll take place in late July. It’s likely the Celestiq won’t see production until late 2022 or 2023.
