Cadillac has unveiled the Cadillac Opulent Velocity concept at Monterey Car Week, serving as a preview of what’s to come for the future of the brand’s performance arm.
The Cadillac Opulent Velocity concept arrives as a swooping, dramatically styled coupe complete with massive butterfly doors to access its 4-seat interior. A flowing front end is capped by a new interpretation of the brand’s nose with a closed, body-colored “grille” featuring a backlit Cadillac logo. This is flanked by massive, verticle lighting elements filled with intricate LED lighting patterns.
The overall shape of the Cadillac Opulent Velocity concept presents as a more dramatic version of the sloping fastback shape of the Celestiq flagship sedan and certainly looks the part of a performance-oriented grand tourer. It’s finished in a stunning Gilded Pearl gold color, fitting for a vehicle aimed at fusing the concepts of luxury and blistering performance.
The rear of the Cadillac Opulent Velocity concept represents the biggest break from the brand’s current design language with a sharp, crest-shaped full-width lightbar featuring repeating geometric lighting patterns and an illuminated Cadillac logo. It’s a clean, modern look that is sure to please anyone puzzled by the rear-end styling on vehicles like the Lyriq and Celestiq.
Access to the interior is via two giant butterfly doors where occupants will find a surprisingly minimal cabin finished in a stunning deep blue color called “Selene Blue.” The Cadillac Opulent Velocity concept’s seating is made from flax fibers under a layer of silver pearl flakes. How opulent. Passengers will find a widescreen display atop the dash with a secondary screen in the center of the automatically deploying yoke steering wheel.
The Cadillac Opulent Velocity concept arrives with no performance or powertrain specs as it’s mostly a styling exercise, though the brand did go into details about how they conceive the vehicle performing.
The concept features two very different driving modes. The first mode, known as the “opulent experience,” centers around keeping its occupants as comfortable as possible. To do this, it employs a hands-free Level 4 autonomous driving system that allows passengers to sit back and enjoy an AR head-up display that immerses them in soothing multisensory experiences.
Those seeking a more thrilling driving experience can opt for the “velocity experience,” which deploys a yoke steering wheel from the dash where the driver can experience the concept’s hypercar levels of electric performance right in their own hands. In this mode, the AR heads-up display is able to project a ghost car in front of the vehicle to serve as a guide when on a track, as well as provide overlays and information about current road conditions in real-time.
Though a concept, it’s safe to assume some elements of the Cadillac Opulent Velocity will show up on future versions of the brand’s V-Series performance vehicles.
