The 2024 Cadillac Celestiq has been caught testing on public roads in North America ahead of its expected global reveal later this year, and despite a comprehensive disguise job it looks every bit as imposing as the concept. Cadillac released its own official images of a disguised prototype earlier this month wearing a different camo wrap. But that was just a carefully stage-managed Caddy marketing effort. These newer unofficial pictures show the Celestiq undergoing real development work, while giving us is a better idea of the true scale of the Celestiq.

Likely to be riding on a circa-3.18m wheelbase the Celestiq certainly has some street presence, particularly with the fastback rear making it stand out next to more traditional luxury sedan rivals like the Mercedes S-class and Bentley Flying Spur. The pictures also show the location of the charging port door just a behind the driver’s side front wheel, and the distinctive piece of trim above it that is lifted from the concept. The flap was also visible on the blue-wrapped car, but Caddy omitted it from the concept’s front fenders to tidy up the styling.


 

Disguise covers the upper rear quarters and lights but we can see that the contours of the C-pillar and the location and shape of the lights matches those of the concept, and though we can’t quite make out the dimensions of the Michelin Pilot Sport rubber in the close-up pics with 100 percent certainly, they could well match the show car’s 23-inch promise.

How close the production car’s interior matches the concept’s promise remains to be seen. That featured a retro-influenced design with lashings of red leather and a gigantic 55-inch digital dashboard. Although Cadillac will load the luxury EV with gadgetry, including GM’s Ultra Cruise autonomous technology, it claims the glamorous styling was inspired by classic 20th-century Cadillacs, including the pre-war V16 cars and the 1957 Eldorado Brougham.

Cadillac hopes the Celestiq will breathe new life into the brand’s once-famous “standard of the world” slogan, and the Celestiq really will have to live up to that hype if it is to challenge the likes of Bentley and Rolls Royce and justify a potential US$ 300,000 price for the most expensive trim level.