The Cadillac Celestiq is a little late to the ball.
Cadillac’s upcoming ultra-luxury electric car was expected to enter production in 2023, but the first deliveries have yet to happen.
The $340,000 four-door liftback is touted to reclaim of The Standard of The World title Cadillac once held.
Each of the cars will be custom-built and trimmed to the customer’s request and come with a 600 hp all-wheel-drive system and 300 miles of range. A company spokeswoman told American Cars And Racing in December that delivery timing would “depend on the level of customization.”
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The Celestiq is equipped with an air suspension system, magnetic ride control dampers, four-wheel steering and an active roll control that uses computer-controlled stabilizer bars.
When it was announced in 2022, Cadillac said it would also come with the hardware required for a hands-free driving assist system called Ultra Cruise, which would be the next generation of the Super Cruise system that is currently offered on several GM models.
By combining Lidar, which Super Cruise does not use, to a suite of radars and cameras, Ultra Cruise was being designed with the goal of eventually being able to handle 95% of driving situations through a series of software updates as they were developed But a new report says the Ultra Cruise program may have been parked.
General Motors sources told CNBC that Ultra Cruise has been canceled in favor of further developing Super Cruise with expanded capabilities.
Darryll Harrison Jr., GM vice president of global technology communications, would not comment on the Ultra Cruise project claims, but told CNBC that “GM continues to expand access to and increase the capability of Super Cruise, our advanced driver assistance technology. Our focus remains on safely deploying this technology across GM brands and more vehicle categories while expanding to even more roads.â€
DOES THE CADILLAC CELESTIQ HAVE A FRUNK?
The consumer website for the Celestiq, which notes that it is available for purchase “by inquiry only,” only says that it will have Super Cruise and makes no mention of Ultra Cruise.
Super Cruise is offered in various models across the Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC lineups and will be debuting in a Buick this year.
Neither Super Cruise nor Ultra Cruise is directly related to GM’s Cruise fully autonomous ride hailing company, which recently had to suspend driverless operations in the wake of a pedestrian accident.
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