Not long after it was founded, Cadillac adopted the slogan, “Standard of the World.” Many decades late, the luxury marque appears to be looking to be that once again. The brand’s latest effort, the Sollei Concept, reflects the company’s commitment to being the best of the best.
General Motors luxury unit Cadillac rolled out the Sollei Convertible today, calling it “the ultimate design expression of a coach-built luxury electric convertible.”
General Motors luxury unit Cadillac rolled out the Sollei Convertible today, calling it “the ultimate design expression of a coach-built luxury electric convertible.” The concept takes the best of Cadillac today and blends with brand’s bespoke history.
“Sollei reimagines the discovery of travel, envisioning a personalized driving experience that connects one with the natural world around them,” said Erin Crossley, design director, Cadillac. “The concept celebrates Cadillac’s pedigree of elegant convertibles in a modern form by cultivating high luxury through design expressions and experiences.”
The name defines the vehicle with Sol, meaning sun, and Lei, derived from leisure. The concept represents Cadillac’s optimistic inspiration for a open-air, leisurely lifestyle.
Familiar feel
The Sollei is reminiscent Rolls-Royce’s Boat Tail from 2021. The one-off model was one of three customized vehicles produced by the new Rolls-Royce Coachbuild Design. The new unit borrowed a bit from the Rolls-Royce Sweptail concept from 2017, then applied a nautical theme to produce a stunning design.
The Sollei is reminiscent Rolls-Royce’s Boat Tail from 2021.
The shape of the new Sollei and the Rolls-Royce concept are similar: long and low with a wide stance that gives it an almost ethereal presence. The two long doors and the Manila Cream color originally used on Cadillacs in the late ’50s embellish the soft, expressive look.
On the inside, everything is wrapped in unstained wood veneers, honoring natural color and grain pattern variations, while surfaces feature open pore finishes that can be felt by touch.
Each piece is hand-cut and hand-laid using marquetry techniques, creating a beautiful focal point that draws the eye from the front doors to the console, and into the rear compartment. The windshield is framed in milled brushed aluminum continuing Cadillac’s use of natural materials.
That’s all cast against the amazing 55-inch pillar-to-pillar screen.
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Old and new
However, even more similar is the process of developing and building these new vehicles, if they come to pass: the customer will be heavily involved throughout the process. That’s similar to the current plan for the Celestiq where buyers sit down with a designer to pick colors, fabrics, and more at Cadillac House at Vanderbilt, a newly restored, state-of-the-art facility at GM’s Global Technical Center campus in Warren, Michigan.
Like the Celestiq and its process, the Sollei nods to the past while incorporating the future.
Sollei is Cadillac’s first concept vehicle to incorporate an bio-based material developed in collaboration with MycoWorks dubbed Mycelium. Used in the charging mats and door map pockets, it comes from he renewable root structure from mushrooms.
Movin’ on up
Cadillac’s primary focus in recent times has been a shift to an all-electric lineup by 2030, although that timeframe’s been extended. Still, the company’s started rolling out some of its battery-powered vehicles, starting with the new Lyriq midsize SUV. The smaller Optiq crossover and Vistiq are set to follow.
However, as part of that move, the brand revealed the Celestiq, a hand-built EV with a price starting at $300,000 — substantially more than even the soon-to-arrive Escalade IQ.
Focus on bespoke
For those unfamiliar with the Celestiq, it’s an exotic four-seat battery-electric vehicle by which Cadillac hopes to restore its once vaunted reputation as the pinnacle of the luxury market. It also will serve as a halo model for the brand’s rapid shift to EVs.
Celestiq will offer a dual-motor all-wheel-drive powertrain capable of turning out an estimated 600 horsepower and 640 pound-feet of torque. That’s expected to give it the muscle to launch from 0-60 in about 3.8 seconds. And its 111-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack is promised to yield about 300 miles per charge.
There’s no word on what the Sollei would be powered by beyond batteries.
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