The electric Lyriq SUV and $300,000 Celestiq sedan are helping change the face and public perception of Cadillac, but these photos confirm they’re not fighting alone. The images confirm that GM’s poshest brand is preparing a baby Lyriq to take on the Tesla Model Y, Genesis GV60, and Audi Q4 e-tron.
These pictures, taken recently in the U.S., show a boxy-looking SUV around the size of the current XT4. But comparing the lights, waistline, and door handles with images of the facelifted XT4 that surfaced online earlier this year out of China’s Ministry of Information and Technology, it’s clear that we’re looking at an entirely different car.
The fully blanked-off grille tells us this prototype is electric, and the flush door handles look just like the ones on the Lyriq. But Cadillac hasn’t simply scanned in the Lyriq and scaled it to 70 percent before pressing PRINT. The camouflaged test car’s horizontal DRLs look similar to the Lyriq’s, but they’re connected to a vertical strip of lights with a curve at the top, like the ones on the XT4 and CT4.
Related: New 2024 Cadillac GT4 Is Half Way Between A Crossover And A Wagon For China
There are more differences as you move along the side and to the rear. The Lyriq and the XT4 (including the facelifted car due for release in the U.S. later this year) have straight waistlines, but this prototype’s kicks up just ahead of the C-pillar. That’s a detail we’ve seen recently on the GT4, a low-slung spinoff off the XT4 built for China. But it does appear that the baby EV seen here will get a Lyriq-style high-level brake light and taillights.
Automotive News reported last year that the electric crossover will be built at General Motors’ plant in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico. The EV is expected to arrive in late 2024 as a 2025 model-year car and use a cut-down version of the Lyriq’s BEV3 platform. Other cars already using or scheduled to use that platform include the Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX, Chevrolet Blazer, and Chevrolet Equinox.
