Even with Cadillac’s EV shift, its V-Series performance models aren’t going away.
Two decades ago, Cadillac evolved its “Art & Science” design philosophy to include modern performance with the first V-Series model: the 2004 CTS-V. Now the automaker is back with another major step that will shape its history, giving us our first glimpses of the “Opulent Velocity” concept car ahead of the 12 Hours of Sebring, where it initially debuted the V performance brand.
The name is pretty on the nose, as it encapsulates what Cadillac’s V-Series aims to represent in terms of luxury and performance. Even with the marque’s imminent shift to electric vehicles, today’s preview is a strong sign that Cadillac’s performance models aren’t rolling off into the sunset.
Wednesday’s announcement included a brief teaser video showing a few blurry shots of what the Opulent Velocity looks like. You can only see the front end for a moment, but it’s still unmistakably a Cadillac thanks to the verticle light signature and the illuminated badge, the latter of which Cadillac did include in a clearer still image.
Ostensibly, this car seems to foreshadow the first electric V-Series performance model — a direct or at least spiritual successor to the existing CT5-V (and possibly the Blackwing). Instead of a turbocharged V6 or supercharged V8 under the hood though, this car will make use of GM’s Ultium platform. And that’s no bad thing, considering what engineers did with the GMC Hummer EV. In its triple-motor layout, that truck manages 1,000 horsepower and can sprint from 0-60 in three seconds, despite weighing a gargantuan 9,400 pounds.
Odds are the Opulent Velocity, or whatever its production version morphs into, will bring mind-boggling performance numbers to the table. We already have a host of crossovers including the Lyriq as well as the upcoming Optiq and Vistiq, the full-size Escalade IQ SUV and the ultra-luxe Celestiq on this new platform. While GM is clearly keen to show us its vision for the future of Cadillac’s V-Series performance, we’ll have to wait until later this year to see exactly what that will entail.
Check out the teaser below:
