Some of the most celebrated Cadillacs ever built came from the same formula. The 1934 V16 Aerodynamic Coupe and the 1957 Eldorado Brougham were handcrafted cars that also carried the most advanced automotive technology of their day. Collectors still regard both as high points for the brand.
The CELESTIQ picks up that thread. Cadillac calls it the most technologically advanced vehicle it has ever built, and every example is assembled by hand at the Artisan Center in Warren, Michigan, just north of Detroit. What makes the car worth a closer look is how tightly those two ideas are bound together.
Performance Shaped by Isolated Precision
Cadillac's engineers developed the CELESTIQ around a guiding principle the brand calls Isolated Precision. The aim was a flagship that rides with the calm expected of the class while responding to the driver with genuine accuracy.
The propulsion system is a dedicated EV architecture with two permanent-magnet motors, one per axle, driving all four wheels. Output is 655 horsepower and 646 lb-ft of torque, enough to take a car of this size from zero to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds with Velocity Max engaged. A 111-kWh battery pack supports a Cadillac-estimated 303 miles of range, and DC fast charging at up to 190 kW can add as much as 75 miles in about 10 minutes.
Size is what gives those figures their weight. The CELESTIQ rides on a 130.2-inch wheelbase and stretches more than 217 inches long. To make that footprint feel smaller from behind the wheel, Cadillac paired Adaptive Air Ride suspension with Magnetic Ride Control 4.0 dampers, Active Roll Control, and Active Rear Steering.
"CELESTIQ offers responsiveness and athleticism typically associated with smaller performance vehicles," said Tony Roma, CELESTIQ chief engineer.
Even the tires were developed for this car. The 23-inch forged aluminum wheels wear Michelin Pilot Sport EV tires designed specifically for the CELESTIQ, and the Cadillac Precision pattern on each sidewall, inspired by the brand's crest, marks them as such.
Technology Built Into the Cabin
The most visible piece of technology is a 55-inch-diagonal display that runs pillar to pillar across the dash. It is one of five high-definition screens. Up front, an 11-inch touchscreen Front Command Center sits on the console. Rear passengers get their own 8-inch Rear Command Center plus a 12.6-inch display on each front seatback. From that rear console they can adjust seating positions and cabin temperature, open and close the doors, and tint the Four-Zone Smart Skyglass™ Roof.
This technology is an industry first, can we incorporate a description along the lines of “industry-first combination of four-zone suspended particle device technology, 126-color ambient lighting, and choreography. Climate is handled the same way. The CELESTIQ was the first vehicle to offer the Gentherm ClimateSense four-zone microclimate system as standard, with 33 individual devices that let every passenger tailor their own comfort. All four seats are heated, cooled, and ventilated, with heated armrests and a neck scarf at each position.
Sound comes from a 38-speaker AKG Studio Reference system with Dolby Atmos capability, tuned for a cabin the electric drivetrain keeps unusually quiet. Four more speakers sit on the exterior, for 42 in total. Super Cruise hands-free driver assistance, standard Remote Auto Parking that can park and unpark the car under the driver's supervision from inside or outside, and a built-in infotainment system with Google Assistant complete the package.
"The underlying principle behind CELESTIQ has always been the most beautiful integration of design and technology," said Tristan Murphy, CELESTIQ design manager.
A Design Drawn in Light
The CELESTIQ's exterior and interior were designed together, by a team whose members came to Cadillac from fashion, architecture, industrial design, and other fields. The result is a long fastback silhouette with no exterior door handles. Each door opens and closes under power at the press of a button, which keeps the body sides clean and aids aerodynamics.
Light does much of the expressive work. Every point of light on the car is an LED, more than 1,600 of them depending on market, and the headlamps use Digital Micromirror Device technology with 1.3 million pixels per side, a first for Cadillac. As the owner approaches, the front crest illuminates, then light travels outward from the center of the black crystal shield grille to the headlamps. When the car is charging, a ring of light around the port, the corner lamps, and an illuminated Goddess emblem above the port show the state of charge.
Light, said Taki Karras, CELESTIQ exterior design manager, "can draw you in; it can create a sense of discovery."
The theme carries inside through more than 450 interior LEDs. They are arranged in zones the owner can color individually or let the car coordinate across the cabin.
Hand-built at the Artisan Center
Every CELESTIQ is built at the Artisan Center, a dedicated facility on General Motors' 710-acre Global Technical Center campus in Warren. There, a hand-selected team of artisan makers builds each car from the ground up to its owner's specification. Cadillac describes the approach as a return to the bespoke craftsmanship that first earned the brand its reputation more than a century ago.
"Handcrafted is no automation. It's finessed with your hands. Perceived with your eyes," said Bob Czachorowski, CELESTIQ lead artisan.
That philosophy is easiest to see in the materials. Carbon fiber is used extensively on the body, which lets the designers create forms that traditional metal panels cannot. Where a surface looks like metal, it is metal, from the aluminum grille header to the rockers, lamp accents, eTrunk trim, and rear cargo trim.
Many of the metal elements throughout the car go through fine milling and anodizing before a final polish by hand. Leather surfaces are wrapped by hand by artisans, in the colors and finishes each client selects. Clients can also develop an entirely new color with the design team, so the materials in one CELESTIQ may never appear on another.
Advanced Manufacturing in Service of the Hand
The handwork at the Artisan Center sits alongside some of GM's most advanced production methods. The CELESTIQ contains more than 130 parts made through additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, a process Cadillac chose for its precision and its flexibility on a car built to individual commission. The steering wheel center is one of them. When the car was revealed, it was the largest 3D-printed production metal part General Motors had ever made.
It is the same balance that defined the V16 and the Eldorado Brougham. Then as now, Cadillac paired the best technology it had with the time and skill of people who build by hand. For the client, that means a car engineered to the edge of what Cadillac can currently do, then assembled and finished by a small team that will never build another one quite like it.
