Cadillac CELESTIQ Wants its ‘Standard of the World’ Title Back

October 19, 20222 years ago Jo Borras 0 Comments

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It’s been a long time since the name “Cadillac” was spoken with the same kind of hushed revelry as Duesenberg, Rolls-Royce, or Aston Martin — and those stories of the 1933 V16 Aerodynamic Coupe and 1957 Eldorado Brougham seem like so long ago, to many, as to have never happened at all. Now, with the $300,000, hand-built, in production CELESTIQ, however, Cadillac may again have a car worthy of the tagline, “Standard of the World.”

“CELESTIQ is the purest expression of Cadillac, acknowledging our incredible history and driving us to a bolder and brighter future,” said Global Vice President of Cadillac Rory Harvey. “It is a completely bespoke work of automotive art, built around the most advanced and innovative technology that we have ever engineered into an automobile.”

As if to underscore those words, Harvey revealed that each CELESTIQ would be hand-built in Detroit, and carry a special badge denoting it as one of just a very few such artisan-crafted vehicles.

Hand Built in Detroit

Cadillac Takes A Page From Tesla's Book, Uses Mega Castings On Celestiq The ultra-luxury flagship's production processes also include the 3D printing of 115 parts and a procedure called Flex Fabrication. — Cadillac CELESTIQ hand-built plaque located on the driver’s side door sill; courtesy GM.

“With an extremely low volume of hand-built vehicles to be offered globally each year and an exclusive declaration process, CELESTIQ will truly be a custom-commissioned one-of-one,” continued Harvey. “Each client will experience a personalized journey to make their vehicle exactly the way they desire.”

Each of those well-heeled buyers will receive a coachwork car built on GM’s proven Ultium Platform, equipped with a 111-kWh li-ion battery and a two-motor, AWD drive train good for 600 HP and more than 640 lb-ft of TQ — more than enough to keep up with the fancy new Rolls-Royce Spectre, in other words.

GM included a number of bullets in their official release to talk up some the CELESTIQ’s more exciting technical features, which we’ve included below. Take a look, then let us know what you think of this costly Caddy in the comments.

Adaptive Air Suspension: CELESTIQ makes use of an air suspension system, rather than the coiled springs used in a traditional suspension system. Compared to traditional suspension systems, air suspension offers a softer, more isolated ride for greater ride quality.
Active Rear Steering: CELESTIQ will offer up to 3.5 degrees of out-of-phase rear steering, in which the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction of the front wheels for greater maneuverability at low speeds. At higher speeds, the rear wheels will turn in-phase with the front wheels.
Magnetic Ride Control 4.0: A signature Cadillac engineering innovation will find a new home in CELESTIQ. Originally developed for the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing, the system is the world’s fastest-reacting suspension technology, which allows for greater responsiveness and enhanced isolation from road imperfections.
Advanced AWD: CELESTIQ offers a two-motor electric drive unit. These motors work with torque optimizer modules that analyze torque requirements for given vehicle inputs. These modules turn the front or rear motors on and off as required to provide optimal torque to enhance ride quality and electric driving range.
Active Roll Control: The Cadillac-first Active Roll Control feature is a significant contributor to the vehicle’s nimble handling. It employs stabilizer bars embedded at the front and rear of the chassis to mitigate the rolling force exerted on the vehicle during turns and other maneuvers, enhancing the feeling of stability, control and occupant comfort.
Active Rear Spoiler: The CELESTIQ Active Rear Spoiler deploys at lower speeds to help improve aerodynamic efficiency and further raises at higher speeds to help keep the vehicle balanced.
Ride-focused tires: CELESTIQ will feature available 23-inch forged aluminum wheels with 23-inch summer-only Michelin Pilot Sport EV tires. This combination will offer strong rolling resistance performance and precision steering. Designed specifically for Cadillac, the tread pattern, self-sealing technology and foam inserts enable a quiet tire for greater ride isolation.
Electric Power Steering: CELESTIQ features a variable ratio front electric power steering system, similar to that found on the Cadillac Blackwings but calibrated specifically for CELESTIQ, that works in coordination with active rear steering to automatically adjust to the ideal steering ratio depending on vehicle speed resulting in an engaging and intuitive driving experience.
5-link front and rear suspension: CELESTIQ’s 5-link front and rear suspension provides exceptional performance tailored specifically for the high torque output of an electric vehicle motor. The suspension isolators are precisely tuned to minimize cabin disturbances yet allow proper road feel and handling response, delivering on Cadillac’s promise of isolated precision.