Rock star Lenny Kravitz came into his love of Cadillacs the same way many of us come into our love of a brand. Through his family. The fact, though, that it was Kravitz’s grandfather, and not his father, who instilled in him this love, is a sign of the wider challenges facing the brand.
In a new video for the brand, Kravitz experiences Cadillac’s attempt to take its name out of the annals of luxury history. With its newly revealed electric flagship, the brand is attempting to return to its status as GM’s, and indeed America’s, luxury leader.
“In the past, Cadillac was the standard of the world. People talked about the Cadillac of things,” says Michael Simcoe, GM’s VP of global design. “We really, honestly, wanted to bring back something that represented that level of detail, passion, and engagement for customers.”
More: 2024 Cadillac Celestiq Flagship EV Debuts With 600 HP, 300 Miles Of Range And $300,000+ Price Tag
And the automaker was given that opportunity with its nascent transition to electric mobility. Simcoe calls it a brand reset where they will try to bring back the lines, style, and the grandeur that people like Kravitz remember from their grandparents’ era.
Simcoe says that the Celestiq stands as a representation of what the Cadillac badge means, both spiritually and aesthetically, for the designers who work within the company.
For customers, meanwhile, he says that Cadillac will allow buyers to get deeply involved in the design process. That will allow them to design their own, special “one-of-one car,” according to the designer, who adds that “pretty much anything is possible.”
“I definitely want it to have an edge that reflects me. As well as a timeless quality. Something that you can look back at 40 years later, and it still speaks,” says Kravits. “It’s beautiful that I’ll be able to walk out of my life and the aesthetic values that I’ve placed in my life into the car, and have the same experience while it’s moving down the road.”
It seems that the car he designed has not yet been revealed, but Kravitz says he can’t wait to drive it.
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