• Cadillac has shown off a prototype of the upcoming Celestiq.
  • The new electric hatchback is shown going for its first engineering drive at GM's Technical Center in Warren, Michigan.
  • We don't have word on when the Celestiq will reach dealerships.

This morning Cadillac shared photos on its social platforms of its new EV flagship, the Celestiq, beginning its road testing in prototype form. As it takes its first drive at GM’s Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, we can see that the production model should look very close to the concept photos released just over a month ago. The Celestiq is expected to reach customers sometime in 2024.

The Celestiq pictured here is wearing blue and white camouflage with hundreds of Cadillac badges in all different orientations meant to create an optical illusion. But the camouflage can’t hide how massive the car is, and its silhouette is remarkably dramatic on the road. The main difference we can tell from the concept is that this prototype has real side-view mirrors.

cadillac celestiq prototype

The electric hatchback is on track to arrive as a 2025 model, although Cadillac hasn’t yet announced exactly when deliveries will begin. We also don’t have any information on how many vehicles Cadillac plans to build, but production will be kept at low volume to ensure exclusivity.

The Celestiq EV uses GM’s Ultium battery technology, and we expect it to offer a large battery pack that should be good for at least 300 miles of driving range per charge. Its competitors such as the Tesla Model S and the Lucid Air offer more than 400 and 500 miles of range, respectively.

The slinky electric hatchback’s base MSRP has yet to be announced, but we expect it to start in the high-$200,000 to low-$300,000 range. The Celestiq will be hand-built, and customers will be able to customize their car to a large degree.

Look for more details on the 2025 Celestiq as Cadillac prepares this new electric hatchback for production and works with customers to spec and build their cars before finally handing them over.

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      Michael Aaron
      Senior Content and Social Media Strategist

      Michael Aaron has loved cars ever since he was a kid. Growing up, he would frequent car shows, build model cars, and read any car magazine he could get his hands on. He moved from Connecticut to Michigan to be closer to the auto industry and attend Michigan State University, where he majored in marketing. He enjoys photography and traveling, and he has been at Car and Driver since 2017.