Picture this: you are a multimillionaire and you want a set of wheels that reflects your lofty status in society, but on that doesn’t burden minions with local carbon emissions. Do you plump for the recently released Rolls-Royce Spectre or look across The Pond to the most lavish Cadillac to date?
It seems a slightly surreal question to ask yourself, but Cadillac has announced that its upcoming and ultra-luxurious Celestiq will "start at $340,000" (that’s around £270,000/AUS$515,000), before customers start going wild with the options list.
Although there isn’t really an options list, as Cadillac says that every Celestiq is a "one-of-one combination of artistry, authenticity, craftsmanship and unparalleled refinement".
That’s right, no two will look alike and each will be hand-built in batches of six in the 'Artisan Center' at General Motors’ Technical Center in Warren, Michigan.
So what do you get for your dollar? For a start, there's a very fancy-sounding dedicated EV propulsion architecture that consists of a mammoth 111kWh battery pack and a two-motor, all-wheel-drive system that is capable of developing 600bhp and achieving around 300-miles on a single charge. GM predicts it will also be able to sprint from 0-60mph in around 3.8 seconds.
But that’s not really the point, as it is highly likely rear passengers will be quaffing champagne and spooning caviar onto hideously expensive blini, meaning this machine is all about the smooth and wafting ride.
Adaptive air suspension, active rear steering, Magnetic Ride Control 4.0, active roll control and all-wheel-drive abilities ensure clients "experience a luxury driving experience but still feel connected to the road at the same time," according to the marque.
It’s a bit of a tech fest inside too, with a 55-inch-diagonal advanced HD display that is said to have the pixel density of an 8K screen taking centre stage. Rear passengers have their own 12.6-inch-diagonal advanced displays in front of them, mounted on the front seat backs. Google is built-in, so passengers can sync diaries and harness the power of their favoured voice assistant.
On top of this, Cadillac offers a 38-speaker AKG Studio Reference Audio System custom that has been tuned by professional audio engineers and uses three separate amplifiers, powering 30 channels, for "complete audio immersion".
The use of 7.5-mm-thick advanced noise-dampening glass ensures the interior will put many top-end recording studios to shame in terms of audio clarity.
Admittedly, the exterior design will likely divide opinion, but the vehicle uniquely fuses future tech, such as the use of 115 individual 3D printed parts, with traditional hand-crafted elements, including much of the hand-milled and polished exterior metalwork and hand-wrapped leather surfaces on the inside.
So there you have it. The best of British craftsmanship versus classic American luxury with a modern twist. Which will you take?
