FUTURE-TECH FLAGSHIP

2024 Cadillac Celestiq spearheads GM's path to next-gen architectures, processes and propulsion.

Restoring the Cadillac brand to its golden-age pinnacle, when it stood equal among Europe's ultra-luxury greats, has long been an intermittent dream within GM. The grandiose ‘Sixteen’ concept in 2003 earned praise, raised hopes, and narrowly missed production approval. Next year, however, another no-compromises Cadillac - electric, of course - returns to take on Rolls-Royce and Maybach in the battle of unbridled luxury. Each Ultium-powered 2024 Celestiq will be bespoke - hand-built in a dedicated $81-million facility located within GM's Warren, Mich., Technical Center and personalized to its “client's” request.

With an MSRP expected to begin at more than $300,000, Celestiq can be a prestigious profit-earner for GM. Strategically, the dramatic-proportioned EV spearheads technologies that are expected to cascade across GM's product portfolio. They include an architecture dominated by large aluminum castings; mass adoption of additive/3D printed components; sophisticated next-generation propulsion, advanced chassis control and interior systems, and GM's UltraCruise automated-driving tech.