The 2024 Cadillac Celestiq EV is a $300,000 hand-built flagship

• The 2024 Cadillac Celestiq debuts as the most extravagant and expensive model the brand has ever created.
• The electric Celestiq is an avant-garde four-seater hatchback, hand-built to order.
• Cadillac fits every model with an expected 600 horsepower, an estimated range of 300 miles, and a base price of more than $300,000.

When was the last time Cadillac really counted The standard of the world? If you’re like us and need to call a friend to answer this question, you might need your grandparents’ landline on speed dial. The fact is, it’s been a long time, but the brand is looking to return to those former glory days as a legitimate luxury coachbuilder with the 2024 Celestiq, a moonshot model that the company claims is one of the most important in its 120- annual history.

For those who are already familiar with The Celestiq concept that Cadillac showed back in July, the feature of the production car will not be a surprise, especially since it is almost identical to the previous show car. Cadillac simply replaced the concept’s exterior camera mirrors with traditional ones and called it good.

However, here’s a quick summary or the gist: The Celestiq is an avant-garde four-seater battery-electric hatchback, hand-built and custom-made for individual customers. It also features a custom platform based on GM’s Ultimum battery technology

A caddy for kings and queens

If you haven’t already connected the dots, this Caddy is out of reach for employees, no matter how big their annual bonus check is. And that’s the point. Cadillac ordered this ambitious vehicle to reconnect with its heritage, reboot its image and become the flagship of the brand’s plans to go all-electric by 2030.

Needless to say, the Celestiq is extremely expensive, with a base price of more than $300,000 that will go up based on customer customization. Cadillac also says it will build only a limited number each year at GM’s Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. These allocations will only be available to those on the waiting list.

So what does Celestiq mean and where did the name come from? It is not important. Importantly, it doesn’t have a generic alphanumeric name like some of the other models Cadillac sells.

It also maintains Cadillac’s plan to use the suffix “iq” at the end of its electric car model names, a trend that began with the newly introduced Lyriq electric SUV. It’s better than Celestiq calling CT7 or something similarly uninspiring.

Dramatiq Celestiq

What’s less inspiring are the Celestiq’s dramatic proportions (see what we did there?). We were lucky enough to see it in person, and to call it stunning is an understatement.

Resplendent in hand-painted Santorini Blue (just one of 200 available exterior colors that Cadillac has mastered for the Celestiq, not to mention endless color options), the big EV looks incredibly long and low. We’re told its windshield is angled steeper than the last one Corvette.

Unlike Chevy’s mid-engine sports car, the electric Celestiq’s body is tastefully done. Its slippery surface hides wide body panels made of carbon fiber, which have almost no clear lines.

There’s also no belt or door handles. The large power front and rear doors open with the push of discreet buttons on the B-pillar, but not before the Celestiq greets the driver with a light show when it detects the fob is within 15 feet. We’re told the series takes advantage of Cadillac’s first-ever “digital micromirror” headlights, each with 1.3 million pixels.

While the Celestiq’s grille design and hockey stick-like taillights are similar to those found on the Lyriq, the rest of the details offer a unique demonstration of the advanced manufacturing processes used by Cadillac. Its underside consists of six mega-sized aluminum castings, which are said to reduce the normally required components by 30-40 parts apiece. Each model also has over 300 manufactured bits, which are produced using a process that can bend and fold the metal like origami (as opposed to traditional stamping techniques). Cadillac also went crazy with 3-D printing on the Celestiq, and the EV boasts 115 such parts used on the steering wheel, switchgear and interior trim.

Let the cabin become your canvas

Cadillac’s elegant approach to design is reflected inside the Celestiq, which has an extremely simple layout that is meant to serve as a canvas for customers. The company wanted the interior materials to be front and center, and the customization on offer was virtually endless.

It’s all about how far down the rabbit hole you want to go, as one Cadillac representative put it Car and driver. There’s even a leather floor option, because of course there is. A piece of cast aluminum on the dashboard allows for custom engraving; the same applies to metal elements on door sills, edges of floor mats, etc.

If you think the 38-inch curved OLED screen in the Cadillac Escalade is impressive, prepare to have your jaw lifted off the floor. The Celestiq has 55 inches of glass that extends from the left front pillar to the right front pillar.

One piece of glass hides two separate screens: the driver faces one, and the front passenger faces the other. For safety reasons, there is a privacy feature on the passenger side that hides it from the driver’s view so he can’t watch a movie from the side while driving.

The Celestiq’s interior technology also consists of an 11.0-inch touchscreen that grows out of the front center console. While physical buttons are lacking, there is a rotary controller and volume knob on the center console. Phew.

Those in the Celestiq’s two individual and highly adjustable rear seats even have their own digital command center via the 8.0-inch touchscreen display. The setup includes settings for the Gentherm four-zone climate system, which is said to allow for intimate temperature adjustments, including heated and cooled pillows.

While some Celestiq features wouldn’t be out of place on a Mercedes-Benz S-class, others are more innovative. For example, take the Caddy’s smart glass roof, which allows people to control the amount of light that passes through four separate sections. Each Celestiq is also equipped General Motors’ Ultra Cruise hands-free driving assistance technology which uses a combination of cameras, radar and lidar to operate on over two million miles of roads (including but not limited to) in the United States and Canada.

Flagship electric Cadillac

Cadillac didn’t just build the Celestiq as a big, comfortable cruiser that looks like a million bucks. It also reflected on the manner of driving the large hatchback. Along with the unique platform, each model features air suspension and the fourth generation of highly adjustable magnetorheological shock absorbers. The Celestiq also features rear-wheel steering, an electric variable-ratio steering system, and it marks the debut of Cadillac’s active anti-roll bars. Both the front and rear suspensions feature independent five-link configurations that help steer the car’s large 23-inch wheels wrapped in a set of Michelin Pilot Sport EV summer tires specially designed for the Celestiq. They even have a unique graphic on the side.

The Celestiq gets its power from twin electric motors (read: all-wheel drive) that are estimated to produce 600 horsepower and 640 lb-ft of torque. This is said to propel it from zero to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds. Too many starts will likely affect its estimated range of 300 miles, which comes from a battery with a total capacity of 111 kWh. To maximize interior space and preserve the Celestiq’s dramatic proportions, its battery cells are arranged horizontally. Cadillac says a 200kW DC fast charger will restore an estimated range of 78 miles in just 10 minutes, but the company didn’t specify any other charging times.

Like most super-expensive super-luxury cars, the 2024 Cadillac Celestiq really needs to be seen in person to be appreciated. Unfortunately, its exclusive nature will likely make it a rare sight to behold. Of course, this is what Cadillac wanted when they set out to develop the Celestiq. Now, most people have to wait to be surprised until the company’s flagship EV goes into production in December 2023.

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