Cadillac Unveils the Celestiq: Flagship Rolls-Royce Competitor, Fully Bespoke, $300k

[gatorfast]

$300k lol

[NYG]

Sounds like medication for erectile dysfunction.

[M3WC]

Originally Posted by dgoldenz

$300k EV with 3.8 0-60? That’s like a Taycan 4S but $180k more.

New $400k Rolls-Royce Spectre is 0-60 in 4.4 and 40miles less range.

Originally Posted by dgoldenz

That interior better be Rolls Royce quality…

I believe that is the point of this car. Coach built to Rolls standards. Bespoke, no two are alike. Every example will be custom commissioned.

Originally Posted by AlexFL

I don’t know how many “Celestiques” they hope to sell.

All hand built in a new facility in Michigan. Max output could possibly reach 500 a year. Actually don't think they have a problem finding buyers in this segment. I already see Drake driving one of these in his next music video.

[dgoldenz]

Originally Posted by M3WC

New $400k Rolls-Royce Spectre is 0-60 in 4.4 and 40miles less range.

I believe that is the point of this car. Coach built to Rolls standards. Bespoke, no two are alike. Every example will be custom commissioned.

All hand built in a new facility in Michigan. Max output could possibly reach 500 a year. Actually don't think they have a problem finding buyers in this segment. I already see Drake driving one of these in his next music video.

A Rolls is a Rolls though...I hope Cadillac is able to make the materials as nice as a Rolls but they're going to have to prove that. They do look very well built and high end in the video, but hard to tell without touching them, the smell of the leather, etc. Can the Cadillac "artisans" do the same job to the precision level that Rolls does? Watching a video on Rolls production line was pretty interesting and shows how much time and effort is put into each individual piece.

One thing I noticed is that this light up grille is the same as the new Lyriq which is $60k. IMO that is a terrible decision as it's not setting their halo car apart from the rest of the lineup. This car being truly "bespoke" wouldn't share hardly anything with the rest of the Caddy lineup but it has a lot of the Lyriq/Escalade design elements.

On a side note, the new generation of Bentley are in the $250k-350k range and have some of the nicest interior materials and design of any car out there. IMO the new Conti GT has a better interior design than Rolls, much more sporty and modern while the Rolls is more old school and classy. The materials in both are the best of the best. This Caddy is at the same price point (or more). Going to be very tough competition for Caddy at this price. Every Bentley and Rolls is "custom bespoke" and can be ordered with just about anything you want if you're willing to pay enough for it...I wasn't sure if this starts at $300k what is the sticker going to be after options, $375k? Hefty!

[AlexFL]

Originally Posted by dgoldenz

A Rolls is a Rolls though...I hope Cadillac is able to make the materials as nice as a Rolls but they're going to have to prove that. They do look very well built and high end in the video, but hard to tell without touching them, the smell of the leather, etc. Can the Cadillac "artisans" do the same job to the precision level that Rolls does? Watching a video on Rolls production line was pretty interesting and shows how much time and effort is put into each individual piece.

One thing I noticed is that this light up grille is the same as the new Lyriq which is $60k. IMO that is a terrible decision as it's not setting their halo car apart from the rest of the lineup. This car being truly "bespoke" wouldn't share hardly anything with the rest of the Caddy lineup but it has a lot of the Lyriq/Escalade design elements.

On a side note, the new generation of Bentley are in the $250k-350k range and have some of the nicest interior materials and design of any car out there. IMO the new Conti GT has a better interior design than Rolls, much more sporty and modern while the Rolls is more old school and classy. The materials in both are the best of the best. This Caddy is at the same price point (or more). Going to be very tough competition for Caddy at this price. Every Bentley and Rolls is "custom bespoke" and can be ordered with just about anything you want if you're willing to pay enough for it...I wasn't sure if this starts at $300k what is the sticker going to be after options, $375k? Hefty!

E.g., I don't see any expensive wood trim in Cadillac's interior. Also way too many screens - who do they actually target with this?? Buyers in this vehicle class don't care about high tech, they want prestige, luxury, comfort and isolation. They will sell their 500 Celestiques to hip hop artists and NBA players, but is it really going to move the needle for Cadillac and GM?

[Humdizzle]

as long as they drastically limit the sales i think they can sell them for the ask. I don't think they will be able to steal bentley/rolls buyers though. those people want brand image. cadillac does not have that. you will need to spend 10 minutes explaining why your car is special to everyone, why hand built in detroit means anything... while the guy in the rolls just says 'yeah i got a new rolls'

these cars, like most luxury vehicles, will depreciate very hard though. screens and battery tech will be outdated every 5 years or so.

[allinon72]

I'd like to see the underlying data that justified this business decision...

Or just another GM hail mary.

[P1]

$300K new
$200K after haggling for 5 minutes
$50K used after the first year

[ptack]

Unfortunately for GM Cadillac does not have anywhere near the prestige or cache of Rolls, Bentley or other exotic brands so even if they were to make a comparable vehicle they're kidding themselves if they think that's the only thing that matters. On this level, for things at the highest end of the price range, what matters is reputation and GM/Cadillac's reputation is light years away from a company like Rolls Royce. The Japanese figured this out decades ago and created all new car brands that were meant to be upscale. Maybe this could work if GM created a new brand that was bespoke only which might be expanded to have other vehicle types. Throwing a Cadillac badge on this is like selling Phaetons at the VW dealership and that was huge failure.

[dgoldenz]

Originally Posted by ptack

Unfortunately for GM Cadillac does not have anywhere near the prestige or cache of Rolls, Bentley or other exotic brands so even if they were to make a comparable vehicle they're kidding themselves if they think that's the only thing that matters. On this level, for things at the highest end of the price range, what matters is reputation and GM/Cadillac's reputation is light years away from a company like Rolls Royce. The Japanese figured this out decades ago and created all new car brands that were meant to be upscale. Maybe this could work if GM created a new brand that was bespoke only which might be expanded to have other vehicle types. Throwing a Cadillac badge on this is like selling Phaetons at the VW dealership and that was huge failure.

x2, that's why I thought the lit up front grille being the same as the Lyriq is a big mistake. They need to differentiate the brand if they're going to jump into this pricing territory. The materials and interior design of the new Bentley and Rolls are like two steps up from every other brand.

[G30M]

Originally Posted by stein_325i

this thing is so heavy the tire can't support its static weight

[stein_325i]

Cadillac Celestiq Demand Exceeds Production For First 18 Months

Originally Posted by Motor1

The Cadillac Celestiq is the brand’s new flagship product that is going into production about a year from now. It is a true masterpiece that will be assembled as a custom commission with prices starting at $300,000 – and that’s before options and customizations are added. It may seem way too expensive and extravagant for a mainstream manufacturer but it turns out the demand for the Celestiq is very strong. In fact, it exceeds the company’s expectations by much.

The Autoline Network’s weekly podcast had Tony Roma, the Celestiq’s chief engineer, as a guest last week and he revealed some quite interesting facts about the development and production of the electric vehicle. Roma also confirmed the demand for the luxury battery-powered cruiser is way beyond what everyone in the company expected and this basically means the model is sold out for the first 12 to 18 months after production begins.

“We already have quite a few hand raisers, like, many many more than we're going to be able to build in the first year or 18 months,” Roma said during the podcast. However, there are no exact numbers regarding Cadillac’s production capacity for the Celestiq, though Roma hinted no more than two units will be assembled daily. “The rate we're going to build these things is around two per day; they are essentially hand-assembled,” Roma added. Maybe 400 will be assembled in the first year? Maybe.

Just like the production process of the Celestiq, the buying process will also be unique. Dealers of the brand will connect the customer with a concierge who will coordinate the communication with a designer, who will make each car built look exactly as its owner wants. Or, put simply, no two examples will be alike as there are almost countless customization options available. The production will take place at GM’s Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, with the team working on no more than six vehicles at a time.

As a reminder, Cadillac’s halo car rides on GM’s Ultium Platform and is powered by two electric motors with an estimated total output of 600 horsepower (447 kilowatts) and 640 pound-feet (868 Newton-meters) of torque. This is enough power to propel the Celestiq from a standstill to 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour) in just 3.8 seconds.

[Tejas1836]

Where did they find the Pacer to harvest that rear end?

[FrankMstein]

Originally Posted by AlexFL

An Audi on a twisty road

I fully agree however he hit some dirt on the apex. Transmission would probably fail by the bottom of the hill anyway. VAG!

[Donatello.]

Did April Fools come early?

[chassis]

Caddy in the same sentence as Rolls Royce?

[KevinGS]

Originally Posted by P1

$300K new
$200K after haggling for 5 minutes
$50K used after the first year

......

[RichF90M5C]

Rolls Royce competitor, fucking brilliant!

[INTMD8]

Originally Posted by chassis

Caddy in the same sentence as Rolls Royce?

I would say yes if talking about 1957-1958 Eldorado Brougham..... but not since.

[ShocknAwe]

Could have had something almost Bentley GT-esque and then they just gave up and fell asleep while drawing the back half of the car.