The Cadillac Opulent Velocity Is A Ghostly Self-Driving Electric Sports Car
There’s a ghost in the machine.
The Cadillac Opulent Velocity concept revealed at the Monterey Car Week event previews ideas that may show up in the brand’s future electric vehicles.
The extremely streamlined butterfly-door 2+2 coupe was designed to deliver both autonomous luxury and high-speed thrills.
Technical details have not been released as that’s not really the point of this design study, but Cadillac said it’s envisioned with performance inspired by its V-Series models and prototype racing cars.
The body features a fade effect to the paint that bleeds into the door windows, but is transparent from the inside.
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“Opulent Velocity is inspired by the dynamic design cues of motorsports in a 2+2 aerodynamic body form,” said Magalie Debellis, manager, Cadillac Advanced Design. “It conceptualizes a holistic consideration of all elements and senses, showcasing a perfect marriage of hypercar personality with luxury execution and revered opulence. It’s a signal to the world that Cadillac intends to lead in electrified luxury performance,” Cadillac Advanced Design manager Magalie Debellis said in a release.
The car is meant to have Level 4 autonomy that would allow a driver to completely disconnect from it on many roads when the Opulent mode is engaged and the yoke-style steering wheel retracts into the dashboard. Widescreen displays, ambient lighting and an augmented reality head-up display on the windshield provide multi-sensory experiences and entertainment in this mode.
Despite releasing a teaser video that included a synthetic motor noise, a Cadillac spokesperson told American Cars And Racing that the display vehicle does not have such a feature.
In Velocity mode the wheel pops back out and a ghost car can be displayed on the head-up display that you can race against on a real track. Imagine programming it with the track record or your best lap time.
While not a production-intent model, GM’s design boss Michael Simcoe was recently asked if a Cadillac hypercar is on the horizon.
“Could we build a hypercar? Yes. Would we like to build one? Yes. Are we building one? That would be giving too much away,” Simcoe told Australia’s Car Sales.
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