One of the best parts when buying an ultra-luxurious vehicle is that you can create your bespoke version, as most high-end auto manufacturers offer extensive customization options. Today, Cadillac announced the development of the Cadillac House at Vanderbilt, a new state-of-the-art facility where Cadillac Celestiq clients can customize their vehicles.
Cadillac Celestiq is what the brand calls “the world’s first all-electric ultra-luxury sedan,” The Celestiq’s exterior design is more futuristic than ultra-luxurious, but that might just be my personal opinion.
Anyways, I’m not here to discuss the Celestiq's style, but rather to tell you more about what Cadillac has in store for its customers. The Celestiq’s production is expected to begin in December this year, and its pricing starts at over $300,000 (almost € 277,000). The vehicle’s clients will enjoy an all-inclusive commission experience at the deluxe Cadillac House at Vanderbilt facility.
The facility is located on the General Motors Global Technical Center campus in Warren, Michigan. It’s named after pioneering designer Suzanne Vanderbilt – in case that name doesn’t ring a bell, no worries. She was one of few women working in the automotive design industry, part of the original Damsels in Design, a group of eight talented female designers hired by Harley Earl in the early days of the 1950s. Suzanne Vanderbilt joined GM Design in 1955 and worked in the Cadillac studio.
Her early work included the design of two vehicles, a 1958 Eldorado Seville Coupe called Baroness and the Cadillac Saxony convertible. What’s more, she worked with the Advanced Interior and Research Studio, where she came up with safer vehicle interiors, securing two patents. She went on to design other products, such as the interiors for the Chevrolet Vega and Monza models.
Ultimately, Suzanne Vanderbilt began to have health problems and retired in 1977, after providing essential mentorship to the next generation of women designers. Her story inspired Cadillac to choose this name for the new facility, paying homage to the talented woman.
Photo: Cadillac
The building that the Cadillac House at Vanderbilt inhabits originally served as Central Restaurant. Located across the lake from the Global Technical Center’s main entrance, the Central Restaurant was an open space where creative and technical minds met and collaborated on designing the future of transportation.
The Cadillac House at Vanderbilt will be an elegant single-story structure engineered to complement the modernist style of the other Global Technical Center campus buildings. It will feature a glass curtain wall to offer a panoramic view of the campus.
Cadillac opted for a simple aesthetic, with travertine and terrazzo slabs, wood panels, and stainless-steel details. At the facility’s core is an imposing, sculptural screen of gold designed by Harry Bertoia. It’s 36 feet (11 meters) long and 10 feet (3 meters) tall and comprises individual plaques of enameled steel coated in molten metal.
Celestiq customers will be led through a design consultation process by a concierge and will collaborate personally with the vehicle’s designers to develop their dream land yacht.
Every Celestiq will be manufactured at the Artisan Center, another facility on GM’s 710-acre campus. That’s where a carefully selected team of talented artisan makers will bring customers’ vision of the luxurious vehicle to life.
Cadillac will commence the process of selected client engagement in late spring, and the Cadillac House at Vanderbilt will welcome the first clients in late summer 2023. In case clients can’t physically reach the facility, they will enjoy an equally highly personalized experience virtually. The Celestiq is expected to arrive to customers in late spring 2024.
Starting out with a motorcycle permit just because he could get one two years earlier than a driver's license, Mircea keeps his passion for bikes (motor or no motor) alive to this day. His lifelong dream is to build his own custom camper van. Full profile
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