Cadillac’s Elevated Velocity concept could foreshadow the brand’s future in off-roading

On the surface, Cadillac’s caller Elevated Velocity looks similar your emblematic conception car: gull-wing doors; a plush reddish interior; a retractable steering instrumentality for afloat autonomous driving; and futuristic lighting scheme. But the existent attraction grabber is the lifted chassis and a caller off-roading mode that could hint astatine a imaginable caller absorption for GM’s luxury brand.

The conception is simply a followup to the Opulent Velocity vehicle that was archetypal revealed astatine the 2024 Quail, A Motorsport Gathering. That conveyance was an all-electric, 2+2 coupe designed to showcase Cadillac’s imaginativeness for aboriginal luxury show and autonomous driving. Cadillac is backmost astatine this year’s Quail with the Elevated Velocity, which is 2+2 crossover that’s besides meant to foreshadow imaginable aboriginal plan cues.

Most compellingly is the concept’s off-road capabilities. The conveyance rides connected 24-inch wheels for amended off-road navigation. And a caller Terra driving mode activates the vehicle’s aerial suspension for much comfy driving connected uneven surfaces.

“If you deliberation astir way mode for the dirt, Terra Active is that, wherever it boosts the off-road capability, optimizing the progressive suspension to make the champion show astatine precocious velocity for the benignant of terrain you mightiness beryllium on, similar escaped surface,” Bryan Nesbitt, Cadillac’s plan chief, said successful a briefing with reporters. 

When asked whether the caller conception could awesome an off-road hold of Cadillac, Nesbitt didn’t foreclose connected the possibility.

“Is determination much accidental for higher extremity show successful this benignant of signifier factor and this benignant of usage lawsuit comparative to, let’s say, much ungraded performance?” helium responded. “Is determination request for that? We deliberation it’s a beauteous breathtaking thing, and that’s what initiated this benignant of the survey for us.”

Luxury automakers person been moving much aggressively successful the off-road space, with visions of high-performance stone climbing portion nestled successful a luxurious interior environment. Mercedes-Benz got things started with the G-Wagen, and since past we’ve seen a assortment of brands explicit interest. Audi’s Q6 E-tron lifted concept was released earlier this year, arsenic was Genesis’ X Grand Equator concept. And BMW conscionable announced its ain plans to merchandise a lineup of luxury off-road vehicles. Of course, Rivian’s outdoor-friendly SUV and truck are surely priced comparable to galore luxury offerings.

The Elevated Velocity aims to transmission that vigor done Cadillac’s V-series. The automaker’s show marque has been connected a spot of a teardrop lately, releasing V-series versions of the Lyriq and Optiq EVs. The caller conception is meant to acceptable the signifier for the adjacent improvement of Cadillac’s show brand. By producing much V-badged vehicles, Cadillac is hoping to pivot distant from its past representation arsenic an “old man” automotive marque to 1 that’s much Gen Z friendly.

To that end, Cadillac has imbued its conception with a batch of integer wizardry that is improbable to alert successful the existent world. That includes a steering with a integer show that presents an animated waterfall of soil arsenic a greeting to the driver. The interior lighting tin beryllium switched to infrared arsenic a therapeutic measurement to “boost recovery.” (The Cleveland Clinic says that reddish airy therapy is an unproven method for treating wrinkles and different tegument problems; Cadillac’s Nesbitt says its astir “exploring antithetic types of technology.”)

In summation to the infrared therapy, the conception besides tracks the driver’s biometric data, offering penetration into bosom their rate, oxygenation, and accent levels. Maybe those levels are excessively precocious – the Elevated Velocity volition usher the operator done a breathing workout to bring them backmost down to mean levels.

Cadillac envisions you partaking successful each this wellness-focuses exertion erstwhile the conveyance is successful autonomous mode. When you’re acceptable to fto the car thrust itself, the steering instrumentality and pedals vanish and you’re near successful an airy compartment being bombarded by infrared airy and breathing meditation features. Sound relaxing?

But if the wellness seems similar a gimmick, Cadillac tin constituent to the concept’s off-roading powers arsenic a motion that breathtaking things are coming successful the future.