Digitally rendered, the Cadillac Celestiq, a battery-electric luxury super-sedan with 640 lb. ft. of ... [+] torque. The car will sprint to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds. The fastback body design is what Brits call a Gentleman’s Express, the rear glass having a subtle bit of Jensen Interceptor mixed with Lamborghini Espada. GM has committed more than $1 billion to the effort, so maybe it’s for real and we will see production cars in 2024. After two decades of concept cars that did not lead to production ultra-luxury vehicles, GM appears ready.

Halo cars like the Cadillac Celestiq create airspace for a brand, an operational ceiling that allows creation of other high-profit low-volume vehicles priced beneath them. Or at least they do if properly executed. With Celestiq, a $300,000 super-sedan evolved out of Cadillac’s Lyriq battery-electric CUV, Cadillac and General Motors are using the brave new world of battery-electric propulsion to lift Cadillac into the ultimate luxury territory it has not occupied in more than 60 years.

Celestiq follows the established engineering format of German and Californian battery-electric cars. ... [+] Lithium batteries slung low on the keel, an electric motor between the front wheels, and another between the rears, for a type of electric all-wheel drive, power precisely metered to each wheel. The car’s “backbone” is created with six large cast alloy pieces. Celestiq is only 4.5 inches shorter than the Rolls-Royce Spectre, and comparable in length to an Escalade. The vehicle’s sheer size will make the automatic parking system a desirable and mandatory option.

Celestiq’s base price will match exceptional piston-engine offerings like the top-spec Bentley Flying Spur Mulliner, and land just a couple rungs below the starting point of a V12 Rolls-Royce Ghost. Celestiq will be $100,000 more than the brutally quick Porsche Taycan Turbo S, one of the most exhilarating cars I’ve ever experienced.

Cadillac is relying on noise cancellation to mask the tire rumble, suspension noise and electric ... [+] motor whine typical of battery-electric vehicles. Only a long test drive will prove if the system works as well as the sheer weight of sound deadening blankets packed into the underbody. Note the “grille” is a mask for loads of sensors for the semi-autonomous “Ultra Drive” system that can manage speed, direction and braking on the highway. Bodywork is a mix of sheet molded composite, like on a Corvette, and carbon-fiber.

Celestiq’s fundamentals closely adhere to the engineering template pioneered by Californian battery-electric vehicles (BEV) that has now been perfected by the best of the Germans. Lithium-ion batteries slung down low in a skateboard. An electric motor out back distributing power to the rear wheels, with another up ahead powering the two fronts, much like we see in a Porsche Taycan Turbo or Lucid Air. Call it electric all-wheel drive. Six cast alloy components form the critical stress points of the architecture and frame the batteries.

Interior is both stunning and elegant, many parts produced through 3D printing. Upper dash is an ... [+] ambitious 55-inch flat screen. The 4-zone climate control can cool the seats. Note the deep, wide footwells—no crowding. Celestiqs are by-commission, and a buyer can choose from a typical atelier range of leather and cloth, woods and textured metals, and any exterior color desired.

Over the past two decades Cadillac has presented ultra-luxury concept cars like the Sixteen, Ciel and Elmiraj, but never followed through on production, rightly assuming that so long as piston engines reign supreme, the Germans and their Anglo-German ultra-luxury brands own the field.

GM has developed a “clean room” assembly center for the Celestiq. For the first time since the ... [+] 1940s, the flying goddess appears. The assembly process should be like the “workstation” process used by most low-volume performance car makers.  

But battery-electric brings opportunity for GM to reenter the stratosphere. Every Celestiq will be constructed in a newly completed “clean room” low-volume assembly facility within the General Motors Global Technical Center in Michigan. Cadillac will assemble no more than six cars at any time, ensuring a methodical and unrushed build process that includes plenty of hand assembly, which should translate into excellent quality. My former colleagues at Ford Special Vehicle Engineering (SVE) employed a similar approach to assemble the 2004-06 Ford GT, and this Celestiq clean room borrows proven methods of the “workstation” approach used by many low-volume performance car makers. So far, so good.

Glass roofs in supercars can bring considerable glare and heat and have proven a no-go in the ... [+] market, but Celestiq’s four roof sections can darken on demand, which will adapt them nicely to life in coastal California and South Florida.  Note the clean load floor of the luggage area. However, without a rear bulwark, a trunk, sound deadening around the rear suspension and rear electric motor will be critical to deliver a serene cocoon.

Just like with the Rolls-Royce Spectre and Porsche Taycan, the Celestiq adopts proven subsystems from the parts bin of the mother company. One must only look at the BMW Group electronics, climate control, and powertrain elements in a Rolls-Royce to understand how Rolls cherry-picks the best systems from BMW. Subsystems are the building blocks that require massive investment, and that customers assume will work without flaw.

Celestiq has handsome, daring exterior design. Call it a Gentleman’s Express, bordering on a ... [+] “shooting brake.” Rear overhang is considerable, something we see less and less. But it hearkens to the graceful fastback coupes of the 1940s, cars I have owned in the past.  High roofline over the rear seats should guarantee excellent headroom and easy entry and exit, important in a luxury automobile.

Most of these GM technologies will be familiar to Escalade Platinum owners, who collectively have logged millions of miles “in the wilds” of private ownership, proving reliability beyond doubt. Adaptive air suspension and active rear steering, like you see on Taycan. Rheological reactive dampers, which impressed when I tested an Escalade Platinum years ago. Active anti-roll bars comparable in purpose to the adjustable anti-roll bars found on German SUVs and even the Rolls Spectre. An active rear spoiler, deploying fully at higher speeds to keep the rear wheels firmly planted. Again, so far, so good.

A rotating controller on the center console, a case of adopting best practices from Rolls-Royce. A ... [+] 38-speaker 1000-watt audio system delivers noise cancellation. The car also has speakers delivering exterior sound to alert pedestrians that Celestiq is on the way.

Like the very best of Germany, Celestiq has 5-link suspension both at the rear and up front. And it’s needed because Celestiq rolls big on 23-inch forged aluminum wheels with summer-only Michelin Pilot Sport EV tires, perhaps a nod to the dominance of California and South Florida in both the ultra-luxury car market and battery-electric. That is an enormous wheel/tire package to keep under control.

A close-up of the passenger seat, showing detail stitching available to clients. Proof is always in ... [+] the driving, but if the photos do justice, this should be a stunning vehicle.

Celestiq’s two-motor powertrain delivers 640 lb. ft. of torque, which GM promises will whip Celestiq to 60 mph in just 3.8 seconds. That’s quicker than the best sports cars I tested as a Boy Editor 30 years ago. Celestiq should prove entertaining at stoplights and freeway onramps, providing a near-silent rush.

Wheels are 23 inches, the absolute extreme one finds in ultra-luxury cars. Tires are summer-only ... [+] Michelins, a clear tip to the importance of the coastal California and South Florida markets, two of the world’s most important for biggest for such ultra-high-end vehicles.

Cadillac claims driving range of 300 miles but does not speak to the weight of the battery pack or weight of the entire vehicle, so I’m left guessing how they accomplish that considerable figure. Bear in mind that the comparably massive Rolls-Royce Spectre 2-door weighs 1000 pounds more than a V12-powered 4-door Rolls Ghost, tipping in at 6559 pounds, and has a range of maybe 260 miles. Considering Celestiq is as long as an Escalade, expect a curb weight of at least 5500 pounds, and perhaps more than 6000. Depends on whether it’s more like a Taycan or a Spectre.

DC rapid charger connected, Celestiq can gain 78 miles of range in just ten minutes, a critical quick “top off” to get the car back to the barn after a day of multiple meetings across a city.

Cadillac’s PR folks were evasive on details, but to deliver the serene cocoon expected of an ultra-luxury car, GM is relying on noise cancellation generated through the 1000-Watt 38-speaker audio system as much as conventional insulation blankets and formed sound deadening inserts. As covered in the Rolls-Royce Spectre piece I posted a few days ago, such quiet is critical to a luxury BEV. Eliminate the piston engine powertrain and suddenly you can hear all that tire rumble and suspension noise, and the ringing of electric motors. As with the Rolls Spectre, this is an open question that can only be answered on the rude streets and brutal freeways of my native Los Angeles. A drive on the 110 freeway to Disney Hall for the LA Philharmonic should prove if Celestiq’s sound cancellation has the goods.

Each Celestiq will be commissioned, with an atelier selection of wood, textured metals, leather, and fabrics. Clients can request one-of-one paint colors. Cadillac will deliver Celestiq through its existing dealers, who have been churched up on battery-electric vehicles. GM has likely been using battery-electric as a means of renegotiating dealer covenants, to upgrade in-dealership customer care. At the dealership, a design consultant will help clients define their Celestiq commission, collaborating with designers back in Michigan. Cadillac is vague about how this will work, but if it is in-dealership, then it might be comparable to commissioning a highly personal Porsche at your dealer, avoiding the flight to Stuttgart.

GM must play fast follower, and benchmark European processes like the Lamborghini Lounge, or Bentley pop-up boutiques, both traveling immersive experiences. It’s not clear if the new assembly facility will include a design studio for clients who want to visit, as they often do at Maison Bugatti in Molsheim, at Rolls-Royce’s Bespoke Studio at Goodwood, or Automobili Pininfarina’s atelier in Cambiano. And of course, the daddy of them all, a visit to Maranello to commission a one-off or Icona Ferrari. European companies have honed this process over the past decade, mixing digital presentation with an in-person experience comparable to commission of a custom suit. The experience is easy, soft-touch, and subtly communicates a lot of information. This is the interpersonal component that Cadillac must master.

Cadillac’s last “bespoke” effort was the 1957 Eldorado Brougham, which was Cadillac’s response to the equally exquisite 1956 and ’57 Continental Mark II. These two cars were arguably the finest in the world in the 1950s, final attempts to capture the elegance of the pre-WWII Classic era. As a Boy Editor I logged many happy miles in the Cadillac Allanté, which was a joyous rumblefish with a stunning Pininfarina body, but it was never equal to a Mercedes SL. Since the Age of Lutz, Cadillac has offered up several ultra-luxury concept cars—the Sixteen, Ciel and Elmiraj—but never produced them. The Ciel was my favorite.

It will be interesting to see if Cadillac and GM have adequately captured the lessons-learned of the Europeans, properly benchmarked their processes, and can deliver a comparable commission experience. When a car starts at $300,000, particularly from a legacy brand that has not reached to such heights since the 1950s, the commission experience is just as important as the final product. First deliveries in early 2024. Time will tell.