Cadillac’s Future is Electric and Lyriq Leads the Way
Scotty Reiss
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The excitement for this new car is electrifying!
Cadillac became the latest premium brand to jump into the race to win drivers over with electric cars, joining Porsche (Taycan) Jaguar (I-Pace) Audi (etron) and Mercedes-Benz (EQC) and Ford (Mustang Mach E) in challenging Tesla for EV dominance. And with Lyriq they may have a chance.
That’s because this is the next era of Cadillac, not simply an electric version of current models, but a whole new design. Lyriq’s design inside and out will lead the brand to its next era of design, from exterior details like headlights and tail lights to interior details like the dashboard, seating and more.
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A birds eye view of the interior on the Cadillac Lyriq. ?Cadillac
A Modern Tech Marvel… Inside and Out
Staring with a blank piece of paper is a designer’s dream according to Cyrstal Wyndham, chief of design for Cadillac. And the Lyriq shows it. While it has a few heritage design details like the Cadillac badge and vertical tail lights that give a nod to classic Cadillac fins, the rest of the design is completely fresh, inside and out.
Buyers and tire kickers will no doubt be excited for Lyriq’s 33” touch screen. YES… 33 inches! It spans the full field of vision of the driver and will be visible to everyone the car, giving the front seat passenger the ability to reach and read the screen too. And, there will be an augmented reality enhanced head up display.
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The charge port on the Lyriq is cleverly hidden under a side panel.?Cadillac
Powered By a Innovative New Battery System
Probably the biggest innovation is something most drivers will never see: this EV is powered by Ultium, GM’s new battery system. It has a 100 kilowatt-hour capacity and is expected to have a driving range of 300 miles on a full charge. Typical to most EVs, the Lyriq will also be able to charge at most charge stations, from level 1, or the standard household outlet, level 2 and DC fast charge. To ensure that there are plenty of public places to charge the Lyriq, GM is investing in EVgo charge stations, helping the company to triple the size of the network to 2,700+ stations.
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A birds eye view of the interior on the Cadillac Lyriq. ?Cadillac
Why is it called “Lyriq?”
Cadillac models “moved back from alpha numeric to having names,” explained Melissa Grady, chief marketing officer of Cadillac. In their studies to pick a name the idea of “IQ” kept coming up. “It conjures up a feeling of intelligence, boldness,” she said. “So Lyriq made sense.”
Tail lights on the Cadillac Lyriq. ?Cadillac
But… How will it Drive?
GM execs are excited for the drive experience. Just as going electric allows the designers to start from scratch, engineers were offered the opportunity to create the perfect drive experience: exciting with immediate power, balanced so it feels weightless, agile so it’s easy to drive, park and maneuver.
And when you don’t feel like driving, the Lyriq is happy to take the wheel. It will have Cadillac’s most advanced Super Cruise semi-autonomous drive system for highway driving and a remote parking function that will let you press a button and it pulls itself in or out of a parking spot.
Lights on the front grille of the Cadillac Lyriq. ?Cadillac
We Can’t Wait to Drive it
And, we are not alone. Cadillac is anticipating a lot of excitement when the Lyriq rolls into showrooms in 2022. Until then, we’ll have to simply have fun with the Cadillac V performance series.
The front cabin and the 33″ infotainment screen in the Cadillac Lyriq. ?Cadillac