The Cadillac Escala Concept is the latest in a line of show cars the company has launched at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance that ultimately preview the next Cadillacs.
And the concept that was shown Thursday night could mean promising new things for Cadillac design. An unconventional new grille, sweeping bodywork and the interior with Curved OLED displays Cadillac is eager to talk about could mean interesting things from the company that insists it dares greatly.
Cadillac has taken the CT6’s Omega platform and put a clear “four-door coupe” spin on it, with a liftback arrangement at the rear that’s pretty reminiscent of the Audi A7. Company officials say the Escala is about 6 inches longer than the new Cadillac sedan, with a wheelbase that’s nearly 5 inches longer.
Debuting on the Escala is a 4.2-liter twin-turbocharged V8 with 500 horsepower, a setup that’s long been rumored to be destined for a hotter CT6 in the near future. Inside, things are fairly minimalist thanks to the screens dominating the dashboard.
It’s also free of the highly polished wood and leather Cadillacs have now, in favor of light fabrics and polished metals, with a huge glass roof keeping things even airier.
Cadillac says the name Escala, Spanish for “scale,” is a not-so-subtle hint that this is an extension of the CT6, which makes us think it’s a preview of an upcoming variant of that sedan. Given Cadillac has been wrestling with what kind of flagship to build as of late, we’d say this would be an attractive way of topping Cadillac’s car lineup.
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