For Cadillac and its dealers, Celestiq EV is just a beginning

DETROIT — The Cadillac Celestiq, a sleek, futuristic-looking five-door electric fastback sedan coming in just over a year, represents more than just a new ultraluxury offering from General Motors.

The Celestiq is the start of a new way of doing business for the luxury brand that harks back to an old rivalry: Cadillac vs. Rolls-Royce.

At the General Motors Technical Center in suburban Detroit this week, GM President Mark Reuss said Cadillac intends to build other bespoke ultraluxury cars after the Celestiq's production run ends. "We've got to learn how to do cars like this for Cadillac," Reuss said from the sidelines of a media preview for the production-intent Celestiq. "I don't know what the next one is, but we have to learn how to do a couple of these really iconic things for the brand right now."

Another unknown is what role dealers will play in the ordering and delivering of the car.

Howard Drake, a Los Angeles-area dealer, has applied to sell the Cadillac Celestiq. He has no doubt the car will be in demand, but Drake, dealer principal at Casa De Cadillac in Sherman Oaks, said the brand has not yet provided much detail about the dealers' involvement in the Celestiq's transaction process.

"What we are trying to figure out is when does the dealer get involved and take over," he said. "The role of dealer is not clear, not even close."

Drake, who also sells GMC vehicles, believes the Celestiq will be successful, despite Cadillac never offering a vehicle for anywhere near $300,000. But two current vehicles in GM's lineup, the Cadillac Escalade V Series and GMC Hummer — both sporting six-figure price tags — have helped bring Bentley and Rolls-Royce customers into his stores. "They've been through the bespoke ordering process before," said Drake.

"Dealers will need to invest in special tools and equipment, and we are working with our dealers at the moment," said Cadillac Vice President Rory Harvey. "Every dealer will have the opportunity to sell the Celestiq, but I don't anticipate every dealer will."

Longtime Orlando GM dealer Alan Starling, whose family business owns Cadillac and Chevrolet stores, is also bullish on the Celestiq.

"Clearly, GM wants to restore Cadillac to its rightful place in automotive history," said Starling via e-mail. Of the Celestiq and the Lyriq crossover just now ramping up production, he said, "Cadillac and its dealers are ready to exceed the challenges and the expectations, and these new products are just the beginning."

Elevating the Cadillac brand into the rarefied air of the ultraluxury segment, occupied mostly by Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Mercedes-Benz, was part of the business case Reuss' team made to gain approval for the Celestiq. The car will be offered initially in the three biggest markets for ultraluxury sedans — the United States, Middle East and China, with European deliveries also being considered, Harvey said.

When the Celestiq begins production in December 2023, it will have a starting price "in the low $300s," Cadillac officials said. That places it in direct competition with the least-expensive Rolls-Royce sedan, the Ghost, which has a starting price of $340,000, but usually costs far more once customers commission their cars with unique trims, colors and other options.

It's been nearly seven decades since Cadillac offered cars custom-built to the tastes of its clients — a sales strategy that has long been a pillar of ultraluxury British brands.

The Series 70 Eldorado Brougham, produced from 1957 to 1959, was a hand-built bespoke sedan that cost more than a Rolls-Royce. Cadillac customers could choose from a massive palette of colors and fabrics, and even order the car with a stainless steel roof. The Cadillac Celestiq will go far beyond that.

Although the technical specifications of the motors and the battery pack are set, nearly every surface area of the interior can be made to order, Cadillac officials said. Cadillac will paint the Celestiq any color a customer desires, and it can be furnished in any upholstery and carpet that exists, said Michael Simcoe, GM's global design vice president.

"If a customer wants their initials or family crest embroidered or embossed in the upholstery, we can do that," said Erin Crossley, Celestiq design director. Other areas that can be customized include interior trim for the dash, door panels and center console, with wood, metal and other materials available. GM can deploy 3D printing to create unique interior surfaces and produce trim with a customer's initials or other design elements.

Cadillac dealerships signing on to sell the car will have to employ a concierge to work with customers as they configure their Celestiq. Customers will be able to receive coaching, counsel and guidance directly from designers as they decide how to configure their car, the brand said, with GM planning to set up a studio in Detroit for meetings between Celestiq customers and Cadillac designers. Rolls-Royce offers one-on-one interaction with customers at its factory in England as well, but not usually with designers.

"We will talk to the client and learn how deep they want to be in the process," Simcoe said. "Do they want to specify the vehicles themselves or do they want us to make suggestions? Our role is, obviously, to create a vehicle they'll be proud of.

"These will be individual vehicles," he added. "There may be some finishes and things clients want that under normal circumstances a designer wouldn't propose, but this is all about the personal experience, and we'll help people be successful."

Harvey said no two Celestiqs will be identical in appearance.

The Celestiq is the first hand-built car from GM this century. Like the 1996-99 GM EV1, production will be low and slow.

"We have a fixed capacity that we can go up to and that's slightly less than two per day, and that's for China, the Middle East and here," said Harvey. That pencils out to roughly 500 Celestiq fastback sedans per year.

Order books for the car are scheduled to open late next year or early 2024, Harvey said, but Cadillac is already holding preview events for potential customers. The first one took place in Los Angeles with GM brass, including Reuss and CEO Mary Barra giving presentations. Musician Lenny Kravitz, who also made an appearance, will apparently be one of the first customers. Kravitz has been working with Simcoe on the trim and color details for his car.

At these events, Cadillac officials will explain the car's technical details. It can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in about 3.8 seconds. All versions are equipped with front and rear electric motors, for a total of 600 hp. Rear-wheel steering and all-wheel drive are standard, as is the Ultra-Cruise hands-free driving system. Cadillac estimates driving range will be more than 300 miles. The Celestiq can park itself into a parallel or perpendicular space.

The car's 200-kilowatt DC fast charger can put 78 miles of range in the 111-kilowatt-hour Ultium battery pack in just 10 minutes. The Celestiq comes with adaptive air suspension. Its underbody is made from just six aluminum "mega-castings." Body and interior consist of 300 fabricated pieces and 115 3D-printed parts.

The main focus of these preview events is on the luxury features, style, customization and craftsmanship of the Cadillac Celestiq, which breaks new ground for the brand.

Its glass roof panel, which GM said is the largest of its kind in the world, uses suspended particle device technology. Each quadrant is separate, enabling the driver — or his or her chauffeur — to choose how much light enters the cabin. The Celestiq has five high-definition screens, the largest a 55-inch pillar-to-pillar screen across the dash that contains an advanced head-up display. The 1,000-watt stereo system features 41 speakers, including three on the outside of the car. The HVAC system can be set to deliver heated or cooled air to four zones, while seats are heated and cooled.

The way Reuss sees it, the Celestiq gives GM a chance to make up for missed opportunities of the past. Earlier this century Cadillac produced a series of highly acclaimed ultraluxury concepts, such as the 2003 Sixteen, 2011 Ciel and 2013 Elmiraj. Despite pleas from dealers and potential customers, Cadillac never followed through with production versions.

"This company, in my career, has never had the courage to do something like this," said Reuss. "We'd take Cadillac almost there, and then we wouldn't finish the job. So we are going to finish the job, and more."