The Cadillac CELESTIQ Is Here—And It’s Just As Epic As It Sounds

In a city like L.A., it’s incredibly difficult to turn heads in traffic—no matter how exotic your ride. Unless you’re the face of a Marvel franchise and driving some type of rare convertible, few people will pause, even for a moment, and take notice. But the 2025 Cadillac CELESTIQ, I quickly found out while behind its wheel, has no trouble commanding attention.

This new, next-level luxury EV is handcrafted and custom-commissioned. (Only a few reportedly exist out in the world.) Oh, and it retails for $495,000. It’s an epic car—so much so that if it had remained just a glittering concept car with unfulfilled promise, no one in the auto industry would have questioned the decision.

Yet here it is, in the metallic flesh, rolling through West Hollywood and exceedingly ready for its close-up.

Cadillac has a hard-earned reputation for engineering world-class performance cars and mammoth SUVs. And five years ago, General Motors president Mark Reuss revealed details of this all-new all-electric car charged with ushering in a new era for Cadillac. In essence, the CELESTIQ would be the proverbial moon shot for the brand.

At 5,517 millimetres in length, the CELESTIQ is 134 milli­metres longer than the current Cadillac Escalade. This alone is a staggering fact. But it’s compounded even more when you consider the roofline of the CELESTIQ—a closer-to-the-ground 1,453 millimetres, or almost half a metre less than the Escalade. It’s long and low and fantastically futuristic.

The sheer size of the car is just the start. The illuminated front grille, full-length glass-panel roof and bright metalwork flourishes keep the momentum rolling. The silhouette—a strikingly original fastback shape—is anything but mundane.

My drive takes me to the legendary Angeles Crest Highway, cutting through the rugged San Gabriel Mountains. Here, untethered by traffic, the CELESTIQ shines brightest. Like all EVs, it’s fast in a straight line, nearing the 100-kilometre-per-hour mark in less than four seconds. It’s the car’s two electric motors that create much of the drama: One drives the front wheels and the other the rear wheels. But the real genius underpinning this Cadillac? Its dynamic handling properties. Despite the car’s yacht-like dimensions, it carves corners like a sports car. The steering deftly guides the wheels exactly where you want them to be. Meanwhile, an advanced suspension system means that no matter how quickly you attack the road, it feels like you’re actually gliding above the surface of the tarmac—it’s remarkable.

Inside the cabin (which seats exactly four), the rear seats are identical to the front seats, meaning that all passengers can access heating, cooling and massaging functions through personal touch-screen controls. The glass-panel roof is divided into four sections, and each can be individually tinted to suit personal vitamin D requirements.

Because each CELESTIQ is custom-commissioned, the buyer is paired with a design concierge to help them make a dizzying number of bespoke choices inside and outside the car, from materials to finishes. Don’t like any of the 200 exterior-paint options? You can bring in one of your own. Then there are also the various places to engrave a custom logo or a signature, such as on the doorsills and dashboard panels. Once all the selections have been made, the design is locked forever so that no two cars will ever be identical.

As I guide the CELESTIQ back toward West Hollywood, I decide to disregard the navigation system and continue westward along Sunset Boulevard. I need more time behind the wheel before I hand the keys back. Just to see how many more heads I can turn.