As a low-volume model, this electric vehicle is hand-built and priced at $340,000
The Cadillac Celestiq is not intended to be a high-volume seller for the brand. As a hand-built electric vehicle with a $340,000 price tag and a lengthy customer design finalization process potentially spanning weeks or months, Cadillac will not be producing them at the rate of models like the Escalade.
Tony Roma, Cadillac’s chief engineer of performance cars, recently indicated on Jay Leno’s Garage that the automaker anticipates building no more than 250 units per year in the United States. He emphasized the “super low volume” nature of the Celestiq, suggesting production will be in the hundreds annually, not thousands.
To illustrate the Celestiq’s anticipated rarity, Bugatti, for example, plans to manufacture only 250 examples of its V-16 hybrid hypercar, the Tourbillon.
The Celestiq represents Cadillac’s ambition to compete with luxury marques such as Rolls-Royce and Bentley, a significant undertaking. The production version of this sleek sedan, boasting a longer wheelbase than the three-row Escalade, was unveiled two and a half years ago.
Serving as a flagship for the Cadillac brand, the Celestiq features a dual-motor electric powertrain producing an estimated 650 horsepower, exceeding previous announcements. This power will propel the approximately 6,300-pound sedan. The Celestiq is also a crucial vehicle for General Motors, as it utilizes the company’s new Ultium architecture, which forms the foundation for a diverse range of GM vehicles.
The $340,000 sedan is equipped with expected luxury features, including Super Cruise, air suspension, four-wheel steering, and extensive technology. It also boasts a four-quadrant tinting panoramic roof, a pillar-to-pillar HD display, a 38-speaker sound system, heated armrests, and more.
While the Celestiq appeared production-ready in Jay Leno’s video, and some have already experienced it, widespread sightings are not expected in the near future due to its limited production.
