Cadillac’s new convertible concept will take your breath away
Cadillac revealed a jaw-dropping, electrically powered ultra-luxury convertible show car Monday, along with more details about how the automaker hopes to return to the front rank of global luxury brands.
Will it work?
Only if Cadillac’s upcoming production vehicles live up to the stratospheric standard set by the Sollei concept.
But Cadillac has shown gorgeous concept cars before. They wowed classic car collectors, the rich and famous at the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance car show in California, but left fewer ripples than if they’d been rolled from their wildly praised debuts into the nearby Pacific Ocean.
Don’t believe me? Google Cadillac Ciel, Escala and Elmiraj. Drink in their elegance, beauty and visual impact. Then name a Cadillac you can buy today that belongs in the conversation with them.
Cadillac’s running out of chances to regain status and relevance. It may already have run out, but the Sollei, in concert with the $350,000+ Celestiq luxury electric car the brand just began building, could buy it one more.
More:First look: 2025 Cadillac Escalade adds EV style, 55-inch screen, power doors
More: See the Cadillac Sollei promotional video
Can the Sollei do it?
Long, low and elegant, the Sollei is a show stopper, conceived “to deliver Cadillac bravado,” the way the automaker’s classics did, but with a new level of personalization and technology, General Motors design chief Michael Simcoe said as the car debuted in an immaculate Mid-century modern building at the automaker’s tech center in Warren, Michigan.
The convertible’s classical proportions — long hood; roomy four-seat interior; compartment for a folding soft top; trunk — are a sharp contrast to the more daring Celestiq, the first of which are now being built by hand at the same tech center.
The convertible shares its dimensions and technology with the Celestiq, though it bears little resemblance to the four-door hardtop beyond its nose and headlights.
Sollei highlights:
- “Manila Cream”: The pale yellow color was painstakingly created from vehicles in General Motors’ Heritage Collection. Beautifully applied and finished by hand, the pale yellow color was painstakingly matched to vehicles in General Motors’ Heritage Collection. The unspoken message: Luxury brands that have only been around a few years can’t tap decades of heritage. Your move, Lexus, Infiniti, Acura and Genesis.
- Classic proportions: Long, low and wide, the Sollei uses the same architecture and running gear as the very different looking Celestiq four-door. The 2+2 seating layout mirrors classic luxury convertibles.
- Power doors: Opening and closing at the touch of a modest aluminum button, the feature makes the Sollei’s long doors easy to operate. The long doors allow comfortable entrance and exit easy from the rear seats. They also mirror a feature in the upcoming 2025 Escalade SUV.
- Metallic fabric cloth power top in color called Daybreak.
- 55-inches of screens across the dashboard.
- Front and rear-seat touch screens for climate infotainment controls.
- Bio-based renewable material: Mats for the rear-seat charging pads and map pockets in doors are made Mycelium, a new material developed from the root structure of mushrooms.
- Five woods, separated by strips of aluminum in hand applied sunburst designs on the doors and seat backs.
- Sunburst themed interior lighting, graphics, embroidery and seat quilting. Tufted floor mats match the roof’s color.
- Multiple zones of ambient lighting, each capable of creating 126 colors.
- Nappa leather-wrapped interior and seats inManila Cream with a pink iridescent treatment to mimic the changing colors of sunrise.
- Rear-seat refrigerator with custom crystal decanter and glasses for chilled drinks.
- Billet aluminum trim, including the windshield surround and interior trim.
- “Aurora” tint on metal trim to evokes the patterns of the Aurora Borealis as solar winds interact with Earth’s atmosphere.
About that name …
There’s no plan to build the Sollei, which explains why the concept was exempt from the brand’s decree that the names of its EVs end in “iq:” Lyriq, Celestiq, Optiq and Escalade IQ.
Cadillac says the name Sollei is a portmanteau of Sol for the sun and lei from “leisure” — and should be pronounced “So-Lay.”
Granted, that doesn’t scan phonetically, but this is the company that decided Celestiq, the made-up, vaguely French-looking name for its super-luxury flagship should be pronounced “Celeste-ICK.”
You do you, Cadillac. I’m thinking about calling your convertible “Sully.”
Contact Mark Phelan: 313-222-6731 or mmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
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