The First $350k Cadillac Celestiq Has Been Delivered

It’s been almost three years since Cadillac showed the first Celestiq in its concept form. Poised then to become the second and flagship EV of the Cadillac lineup, the Celestiq headlined the marque’s entry into the ultra-luxury electric vehicle segment to rival the Rolls-Royce Spectre. It was supposed to reach customers last year, but it didn’t happen. That changes this week, though, as despite the delay due to software, the automaker has delivered the first Celestiq to its owner.

The first Celestiq client delivery was hosted through a private ceremony at the General Motors Global Technical Center. The handover took place at Cadillac House at Vanderbilt, a dedicated, state-of-the-art facility designed for client personalization. Obviously, the identity of the well-heeled owner wasn’t disclosed, but you won’t miss the car (pictured above) if you ever see one on the road.

Highly Bespoke And Extremely Rare

The first Celestiq comes with a brown exterior paint color and matching interior – less adventurous than the nameplate’s early press images. The specifics weren’t disclosed, but keep in mind that each Celestiq is highly bespoke, built specifically to a customer’s specifications. In fact, each client works closely with a Celestiq concierge and, optionally, a Cadillac designer to personalize every aspect of the car. And, as you can see in the video at the bottom of this page, each Celestiq is hand-built at the Artisan Center, GM’s dedicated build facility in Michigan.

Not that Cadillac is in a hurry to make each of the EVs at the factory. The population of the Celestiq will be small, and the roll-out slow, as one would expect for such a bespoke product. Only 25 units will be built in its first year, and back in May, not all 25 units of the flagship EV even had owners yet. It speaks to the very low demand for the ultra-luxury model, but with a price tag of $340,000 before customization, this isn’t your grandma’s Caddy.

More Powerful Than Anticipated

Despite the bevy of customizations and personalization, the Celestiq is only available with one powertrain setup: two electric motors for a combined output of 655 horsepower and 646 lb-ft of torque. Those numbers are a bit higher than initially claimed, good for a 0-60 mph sprint in 3.7 seconds with Velocity Max mode. The range is 303 miles according to Cadillac’s estimate; official EPA estimates have yet to be published.

Related

Rolls-Royce Delivers First Spectre EV For America

The electric vehicle belongs to long-time customer and avid car collector Michael Fux.

Clearly, the Celestiq has surpassed the Rolls-Royce Spectre in several metrics like power, performance, and even range (for now). However, the British luxury EV reached America first, predating the Cadillac by over a year and a half, and it’s a brand far more synonymous with ultra-luxury than Cadillac. Then again, the Celestiq has another card in hand: its price. Despite its mid-$300,000 base price tag, the Celestiq is still more affordable than the Spectre, which starts at over $420,000.