On Thursday, Cadillac revealed Lyriq, the first all-electric vehicle in its history.
Lyriq is the first Cadillac to arrive as the division becomes General Motors' lead electric brand.
Lyriq will use Cadillac's new Ultium battery technology and offer more than 300 miles of range on a charge.
When General Motors said in January of 2019 that Cadillac would become its lead electric brand, it was hard to know what to expect.
But 2020 is the year that the plan begins to take shape, starting with the unveiling of the Lyriq, Caddy's first all-electric vehicle, revealed as a show car on Thursday evening.
"Led by Lyriq, Cadillac will redefine American luxury over the next decade with a new portfolio of transformative EVs," Steve Carlisle, executive vice president and president, GM North America, said in a statement.
Cadillac
The Lyric reveal was supposed to happen in Los Angeles in March, but the coronavirus pandemic scuppered that plan. Business Insider got a look at the vehicle earlier that month, however, when GM held a media day to showcase its forthcoming EV lineup — 22 electrified vehicles coming by 2023 — and share details on its "Ultium" battery technology.
Lyriq is all-electric Caddy number one. Cadillac called the crossover a "show car," to distinguish it from the production version. On a briefing with media this week, Carlisle said the vehicle would launch first in China, and soon after in the US (production should commence in 2022). He also said pricing would be more than $75,000, but less than $100,000, to start.
The design is distinguished by a "black crystal" grille, which Cadillac said is "part of a dramatic lighting choreography that — along with bold vertical, slim LED signature lighting — greets the owner upon approach."
That motif continues to the Lyriq's rear, where "a split tail-lamp design incorporates slim LEDs that are also integrated into the lighting choreography."
The crossover promises a range of more than 300 miles on a single charge. Cadillac also said that rear- and all-wheel-drive variants would be offered. Critically for customers potentially cross-shopping with Tesla, Lyriq will have Caddy's latest iteration of its Super Cruise semi-self-driving technology, which enables fully hands-free operation on over 200,000 miles of GPS-mapped highways.
A real marquee feature is a gigantic, 33-inch LED screen that stretches across the entire dashboard.
"This new display has the highest pixel density available in the automotive industry today and can display over one billion colors," Cadillac said.
Design and engineering are also important aspects of the Lyriq story.
"With a dedicated EV architecture, [Lyriq's] design eliminates significant physical constraints associated with adapting electric propulsion within a conventional vehicle architecture, for an optimized design that supports greater driving range, an engaging driving experience and a new interpretation of passenger space," Cadillac said in a statement.
The Lyriq is also the first GM vehicle to use the new Ultium battery technology. A 100-kilowatt-hour configuration consists of "large, flat pouch cells that enable smart module construction to reduce complexity and simplify cooling needs," Cadillac said. "Additionally, the battery electronics are incorporated directly into the modules, eliminating nearly 90 percent of the battery pack wiring, compared to GM's current electric vehicles."
Active noise-canceling technology, Cadillac said, would make for a very quiet, relaxing interior — and allow an available 19-speaker AKG Studio audio system to shine.
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