Cadillac wasn't kidding when it said pricing for its Celestiq flagship would start above $300,000.
Company spokeswoman Melissa Grady Dias took to LinkedIn last week to announce the start of customer commissions for the big electric hatchback, and that the base price is approximately $340,000, not including the destination fee.
That base price is for what Dias described as a “blank canvas,” meaning actual transacted prices may be much higher. Part of the reason for the car's steep pricing is the high level of personalization that will be available to customers.
Cadillac hasn't provided details on what personalization options will be available, apart from the return of the Cadillac goddess logo for parts of the vehicle's exterior and cabin. However, in a video released last fall, musician and future Celestiq owner Lenny Kravitz is shown looking at a range of colors and trim materials.
The customer commission process, or design process, as Cadillac refers to it, will put customers in contact with an on-call concierge, as well as Cadillac's designers, to help them arrive at their ideal configuration. Customers will also be invited to visit, either physically or virtually, a new Cadillac House location at the General Motors Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, where the Celestiq will be built.
Production starts in December and Cadillac has said the Celistiq will be churned out largely by hand at a rate of just 1.2 cars per day, meaning annual production will be less than 500 units. Deliveries are scheduled to start in the spring of 2024. Dias said there's been “extremely high demand” for the Celestiq, meaning anyone who hasn't reserved a build slot yet may have to wait a long time to take delivery.
The Celestiq is designed around General Motors' Ultium EV platform and battery technology set. It will have 600 hp on tap and a 111-kwh battery expected to deliver approximately 300 miles of range. Thanks to support for charging at up to 200 kw, owners will be able to add 80 miles of range in 10 minutes using a DC fast charger.
There will also be plenty of technology, either standard or available, including a 55.0-inch dash-wide digital display, a four-panel glass roof that enables the driver and passengers to individually set the level of transparency, a 38-speaker AKG sound system, and the first application of GM's Ultra Cruise automated driver-assist feature that is promised to function on 95% of U.S. roads.
