While the Cadillac Ciel concept won’t be heading into regular production, Cadillac’s head of global design says the one-off drop top’s design does hint at the brand’s future design direction.
“We wouldn’t be showing it if we didn’t have any intentions of doing anything with it,” Cadillac global design director Clay Dean said of the Ciel. The car debuted over the weekend at the Pebble beach Concours d’Elegance.
Cadillac will soon launch its new XTS model to replace the departed DTS, but the luxury division is still in search of a true range-topper to take on the likes of the BMW 7-Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Although the Ciel won’t be the car to take on those industry heavy-weights, its overall design could live on in the form of a future Cadillac flagship.
The Ciel’s wheelbase stretches 125 inches, which is about a foot longer than the CTS sedan and about on par with the Mercedes S-Class. A production interpretation of the Ciel would likely ride on a similar wheelbase with rear-wheel drive.
