|
LOS
ANGELES -- It was built and designed
by the GM Advanced Design Center team led by Frank Saucedo right
here in southern California. Cadillac showed off its Ciel concept
car at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The four-seat convertible is
truly a one-of-a-kind because of its olive wood interior with
wood that came from a 300-year-old olive tree that fell in a storm
outside of Naples, Italy.
Ciel
is pronounced “C-L” and is the French translation
for “sky” or “heaven.” It is equipped
with a 3.6-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 engine and a hybrid system
with a lithium-ion battery.
“The
Ciel is an exploration into the flagship vehicle for Cadillac,“
said Niki Smart, exterior design manager at the GM Advanced Design
Center. “We’re able to spend the entire project duration
here in researching and executing the design of the car in the
environment it was intended for. I don’t think we’ve
really seen a convertible that concentrates on true four seats.
We’ve seen variations of 2+2 seats, variations of a coupe.“
The car
was specifically designed for a weekend trip along the Pacific
Coast Highway (CA1) while the sun sets from Los Angeles north
to Monterey for the Pebble Beach Concours.
“We’ve
got independent rear access doors so you can get in and out of
the car without bothering the front row,” Smart added. “The
entire architecture of the vehicle focuses around them. It’s
not about the power of the vehicle, it’s more about the
leisurely drive. Hopefully, we’ll see this car on the road,
we’ll see.”
The Ciel’s
wheelbase is 125 inches, that is about 12 inches longer than the
Cadillac CTS sedan. A “floating” center console runs
from the instrument panel to the rear of the interior. Each passenger
has the ability to make dinner plans, check the weather forecast
or even upload photos of their vacation via sites like Facebook
and Twitter.
“The
hue of the body work, the paint tone that you see, was really
around this notion of looking at a glass of Merlot against the
sun,” he explained. “You see these deep tones and
these lighter, rich colors around the outside. On the interior
and the finishes, we’re using natural leather. The communications
between the four occupants of the car are very important. Somebody
who sat in the rear of the car could be researching where their
next stop will be and pass that information to the driver.”
Pricing
has not yet been announced because it is still a concept car.
However, if the Ciel does go into production, it may cost as much
as $100,000.
For
more information on the Cadillac Ciel, visit www.cadillac.com/CielConcept.
