Cadillac today revealed its latest all-electric concept that will be on display at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering in Carmel, CA, beginning tomorrow in conjunction with Monterey Car Week. Called Elevated Velocity, it is designed to combine the General Motors luxury brand’s V-Series treatment with an elevated 2+2 crossover form for exhilarating on- and off-road performance that previews future Cadillac design cues.

“Elevated Velocity builds on the design principles introduced in the Opulent Velocity concept revealed in 2024, artfully integrating Cadillac’s luxury, technology, and performance in an increasingly popular performance-luxury crossover form factor,” said Bryan Nesbitt, VP, GM Global Design.

Elevated Velocity showcases dual experiences “that elevate the state-of-being for occupants” in a lifted platform calibrated for off-road performance (or velocity) in extreme desert conditions. The concept is an example of how the brand’s electric high-performance luxury crossover line, now represented by the Lyriq-V and Optiq-V, could evolve in the future. It features a blend of extreme performance, advanced technologies, and “bespoke” luxury craftsmanship.

“The word ‘elevate’ serves a dual meaning,” said Alexandra Dymowska, Cadillac Senior Brand Designer. “It is a reference to the lifted chassis that enables high-speed off-road capabilities, but it also refers to an elevated luxury experience.”

In that regard, the concept draws on new inspirations for Cadillac, like desert polo, and motorsports series like the Dakar Rally and Extreme E. The 2+2 concept also blends design elements from Cadillac’s production Celestiq and Lyriq, such as a stretched hood, while pushing the brand’s design language forward with sculptural and technical inspirations for potential future Cadillac production vehicles.

“We started the concept with the dramatic proportions of Opulent Velocity, which gave it its characteristic prestigious presence,” said Tom Grech, Exterior Designer, Cadillac Advanced Design. “But evolved them over a high stance and cascaded a fast roofline over the entire vehicle, creating an impactful silhouette.”

It features a Vapor Blue exterior with undertones of flinty grey inspired by glacial ice and blue-tinted glazing contrasting with the fiery red interior. Cadillac’s signature Precision pattern also appears throughout the concept.

Among other design elements are gull-wing doors that are designed for easy passenger entry and exit. The wheels feature a blend of Bcomp flax fiber and black crystal tint acrylic. The concept features a reimagining of Cadillac’s signature lighting choreography to complement the lifted stance, including fluted translucent front lighting and rear vertical lighting with a new light tunnel.

The wheels also feature lighting, a technology that could be coming to production soon, according to Nesbitt, and echoed by Vivian.

“It’s a question of probably when, not if,” said Vivian. “The technology exists today. It’s about durability and use case, and that’s what we’re exploring with this concept.”

 

Peak performance for off-road terrain

Elevated Velocity embodies Cadillac’s V-Series performance and “Art of Exhilaration” design philosophy with selectable driving modes that enable peak EV performance on any terrain and “the maximum thrill of a Hypercar.” Its lifted design, riding on 24-in wheels, enables occupants to experience challenging terrain while providing a refined and luxurious on-road driving experience.

That V-Series association has taken on greater importance at Cadillac. According to Brandon Vivian, Executive Chief Engineer at General Motors, that’s because high-performance vehicles positively impact the luxury buyers’ opinions of brand quality. For Cadillac, it pulls in younger, more affluent, and more college-educated buyers. Performance variants represent a unique opportunity to provide a vehicle for that automotive enthusiast. And auto racing enhances the brand’s credibility, especially with Gen Y and Gen Z. This is why you see Cadillac competing in series like IMSA and soon Formula One.

For the new concept, selectable drive modes unlock the ability to experience precision on-road and power off-road, while a dual-mode drive adapts instantly to terrain and intent.

The e-Velocity mode is for intense on-road driving and an evolution of the V-Mode from current V-Series production vehicles. Terra mode enables peak off-road performance and activates special air suspension heights. Sand Vision, a feature similar to Cadillac’s existing Night Vision technology, enables the driver to achieve better visibility in a sandstorm. Elements Defy is a practical feature that keeps the exterior of the concept clean of external elements and debris such as dust, sand, and dirt via a dust-phobic vibration.

 

Welcome, Elevate, and Velocity

The concept features selectable Welcome, Elevate, and Velocity user experience modes.

For Welcome mode, the vehicle floor, seats, instrument panel, doors, and steering wheel illuminate in a soft white upon approach, while the exterior gull-wing doors lift skyward, inviting the occupants into the vehicle. The welcome animation on the steering wheel display is meant to be reminiscent of shifting desert sand, and the Cadillac wordmark and V-Series logo illuminate on the dashboard endcaps.

In Elevate mode, the concept becomes autonomous, and its interior transforms into a recovery space for its occupants. The pedals and steering wheel retract, and the temperatures of the outside, driver’s body, and cabin are displayed. Interior ambient lighting shifts to red, while seatback lighting features infrared light to promote the optimal performance of the occupants. Doors are backlit to synchronize breathing and movement, furthering the emphasis on recovery. Above the steering column, a light moves forward and rearwards to aid in breathwork in conjunction with an animation displayed on the cowl to help the occupants get into the performance mood.

As Nesbitt explained it, infrared therapy can boost recovery, benefit circulation, and reduce inflammation, and this allows the concept to transform time and travel to prepare for optimal performance.

“These are the types of ideas we’ve been looking at, and we know we can leverage the technology coming online in the future,” he said. “We can add more value while we’re either in transit autonomously or after we’ve had an exhilarating experience hands-on. Because we have integrated biometrics that can collect the data, we can manage things at a multisensory level, tracking heart rate, oxygenation, and stress, while guided breath work enhances that recovery, focus, and performance.”

In Velocity mode, the cockpit is the focus, with the steering wheel and pedals moving into driving-engaged position. The interior lighting features cool white tones for a sense of exhilaration. Door interiors are backlit, and white floor lighting dims to aid the driver in focusing on the road. The deployable steering wheel displays speed, time, and battery health/ temperature, while the AR HUD (augmented reality head-up display) navigation visuals appear on the cowl display.

 

Cabin experience

Inside, Elevated Velocity was designed with cabin colors, materials, and finishes selected for their aspirational form yet maximal functionality to optimize the occupant experience. The interior features materials and surfaces ranging from smooth wrapping, embossed grains, boucle fabric, tinted acrylic, and glass.

“The objective of the interior design was to reduce weight physically through slender forms yet deliver comfort and support that’s also visually rich,” said Ding Zeng, Senior Creative Interior Designer, Cadillac Advanced Design.

Concept designers needed to carve out the interior to create as much perceived and real space as possible for a luxury experience. That’s important because they had to keep the exterior very tight, especially the upper portion, and manage the frontal area for aerodynamics.

There are even carved out triangular holes in the seat backs.

“We are trying to carve out the mass, give a very lightweight look,” said Zeng. He added that the seat carve-outs gave designers an opportunity to add lighting into those areas, for ambient effects and for infrared in Elevate mode.

The cabin is outfitted in shades of deep red with brushed metal accents and “a lot of really beautiful, exquisite detail that’s 3D printed,” said Dymowska.

A deep Morello Red leather with smooth Fine Nappa grain covers the headliner/pillars, door uppers, seat cushions, rear compartment, and cabin and cargo floor. A red Cerise fabric wraps interior elements—from the doors to behind the instrument panel and the rear seats—to create a full ring of the material. A Garnet red boucle fabric is used on the seat uppers, door armrests, console armrest, and instrument panel. The doors feature a 3D printed pattern in black crystal inspired by the dynamic action of desert polo.

When in Elevate mode, a variety of in-cabin experiences are engaged. Interior cabin filtration pulls dust particles out of the air to keep the interior pristine. “Extreme climatization” compensates for dry air, sudden and extreme temperature shifts, and altitude changes. Air purification and air fragrance keep occupants looking and feeling refreshed. The integrated red-light therapy helps occupants recover from vigorous pursuits.

The cabin features a locked vault compartment for critical items and a rear storage space for a bespoke polo set echoing the concept’s red interior material design in a Vapor Blue case reflecting the concept’s exterior. The polo helmet, gloves, kneepads, and mallet are crafted in Morello red and feature Cadillac wordmarks, crests, and interpretations of the Cadillac precision pattern.