As far as the public is concerned, the Cadillac Ciel concept has only existed for a few days, but our artist has already begun to imagine what it might look like with a roof and door handles (and conventional rear doors). Might as well: The big convertible doesn’t have much of a chance of making production, but a big sedan resembling it does, and a big sedan needs door handles to let people in.
A flagship such as the Ciel makes perfect sense for Cadillac. In the near future, GM’s luxury arm will introduce the ATS, aimed directly at the BMW 3-series, Mercedes-Benz C-class, and Audi A4; and grow the CTS to more directly compete with the 5-series, E-class, and A6. The segment occupied by the 7-series, S-class, and A8 is an obvious gap. Cadillac insiders have already told us the brand plans to rectify that in 2014. (We’re ignoring the upcoming XTS, as it is a front-driver aimed exclusively at the decrepit and the Chinese.)
We hope Cadillac’s S-class competitor draws on the Ciel for inspiration, but we also hope it keeps the upright, almost Rolls-Royce–esque greenhouse in this rendering. There is still no car that says “stately” as universally as a Phantom, even though the Roller says “ostentatious” quite clearly, too.
When Cadillac’s full-sizer does appear, the convertible concept’s twin-turbo V-6 hybrid powertrain could be on the options sheet, but Cadillac would need something mainstream to challenge the V-8s offered by the competition. Fortunately, GM’s expertise in V-8s is extensive, and the current Cadillac lineup includes, of course, the 556-hp supercharged bent-eight in the CTS-V. As for the Ciel concept’s twin-turbo six, it may live on in nonhybrid form in the V derivative of the ATS, which we’ve learned will use an engine of that description.
Illustration by Christian Schulte
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