Megabuck mystery buyers design their own $350K+ Celestiqs at special studio in Warren
Mark PhelanSeveral ultra-wealthy Cadillac Celestiq buyers have had the chance to sit down with GM designers to personalize their cars this year in a painstakingly restored mid-century modern building on the campus of General Motors’ Tech Center in Warren, Michigan.
The buyers are anonymous, and will remain so until they’re spotted getting out of custom-made Celestiqs at a public event like the Oscars, Cannes Film Festival, NBA All-Star Game or Met Gala. The Celestiq exists to be seen with and by style setters, alongside other hand-built vehicles from Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Aston Martin and Ferrari.
“We’re working to deliver vehicles by year end,” Cadillac boss John Roth told me recently, shortly after revealing the brand’s striking Sollei concept car in the same building. The Sollei concept uses the same platform and electric drivetrain as the big, bold Celestiq.
Priced starting at $350,000, the first Celestiqs were supposed to be delivered around the beginning of 2024, but GM’s struggles to build potentially higher-selling electric vehicles like the Chevrolet Silverado pickup and Blazer SUV has made concern over when the first multimillionaire would get their Celestiq irrelevant, for the moment.
Nonetheless, Roth was deluged with questions about the imposing Celestiq after revealing the Sollei concept car at the Tech Center last week.
The Sollei convertible shares its architecture, electric motors and batteries with the Celestiq, which has a fixed roof, four doors and a hatchback.
Every Celestiq owner will sit down with GM designers to select their car’s interior materials and appearance. A selection of fabrics, leathers, woods and more hides behind wooden panels in the open-air space of Cadillac House, a former cafeteria that was restored and expanded to create areas for client consultations, viewings and design work.
In addition to that catalogue of materials, owners can go off the menu with special requests. Celestiq prices start at $350,000 and end when the buyer has everything they want.
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First look inside Cadillac’s temple of design
“Cadillac House is part of our story — a unique customer experience,” Roth said. “We’re working with pretty discriminating clients.”
He wouldn’t say how many have come to the building — full name, Cadillac House at Vanderbilt — so far. More on the name below.
Roth can’t even say when then first client will get their car. He likened the design process to working with an architect on a new house: One change begets another and another as the project evolves.
Cadillac recently announced the first Celestiqs will now be 2025 models.
Cadillac House includes a turntable to display cars, video walls, casts of the Cadillac Goddess emblem, designers’ work spaces and conference tables, and space to display multiple vehicles.
There’s also a courtyard — screened from outside view, of course — with space for a reception and to evaluate cars, colors and materials in natural light.
The building’s name honors Suzanne Vanderbilt, who became one of the auto industry’s first full-fledged designers when GM hired her from The Pratt Institute in 1955. She was one of a group dubbed the “Damsels of Design” for publicity purposes. Ever wonder how long it takes an idea to evolve from innovative to patronizing? Now you know. Vanderbilt was initially pigeonholed into giving cars a “feminine touch,” but persevered at GM into the 1970s, working on a number of concept and production cars, including some Cadillacs.
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.