2011 Cadillac Ciel Concept

2011 Cadillac Ciel Concept

General Motors’s Advanced Design Studio is located at a secret location somewhere in southern California, and over the past decade or so the studio has been responsible for the look of many of GM’s cars you see on the roads today--in the U.S. and overseas.

The studio’s most recent design is the stunning Cadillac Ciel Concept, which was revealed earlier this year at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

In this latest episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, GM’s global design chief Ed Welburn takes us to the inner sanctum of GM's Advanced Design Studio and gives us an up-close look at the Ciel. Also featuring in the video is the Ciel’s lead exterior designer Niki Smart and interior developer Gael Buzyn.

The Ciel--pronounced “C-L,” the French translation for sky, according to its maker, opens a new chapter in Cadillac’s design strategy, pushing the brand’s Art & Science philosophy to new levels. It is powered by a twin-turbocharged version of the 3.6-liter direct injection V-6 engine found in several of Cadillac’s other models, and in the Ciel is paired with a hybrid system using lithium-ion battery technology.

Peak output is a healthy 425 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque when the engine is working, but the concept is also capable of all-electric drive for short distances--perfect for the traffic commute. For more details check out our previous post here.