Cadillac is positioning the all-electric, $340,000 Celestiq as a return to its ultra-luxurious roots. So it makes sense that with it, the brand has brought back the hood ornament that adorned the ultra-luxurious early-20th-century cars that inspired it.
To reimagine the Cadillac Goddess for the modern age, the automaker turned to sculptor Richard Wiquist. He spent months carving his interpretation of the ornament, and spent hours poring over every detail of the ones that preceded it in order to situate his version in its proper place in the history of Cadillac.
“Reimagining the Goddess was a beautiful experience because it required me to study the past and understand the evolution of what Cadillac is today,” says Wiquist. “The Goddess always represented the aesthetical zeitgeist.”
Read: What’s The Coolest Hood Ornament And Should They Make A Comeback?
First introduced in 1930, the Cadillac Goddess arrived as hood ornaments were at the height of their popularity. At first, its influences were almost all classical, but by the ’50s, its abstract aesthetics were more closely aligned with the designs of the Jet Age.
For his rendition, Wiquist turned to the Goddess that adorned the hood of the legendary Cadillac V16s from 1933. He said that the example appealed to him because of the sense of motion that was lent to it by the flowing drapery.
“This rendition introduces a new, soaring form that reflects the brand’s heritage while also driving it into the future,” said Wiquist. “For the new Goddess, it had to have context and imbue the personal connection the figure represents between Cadillac and its clients through vehicles such as Celestiq.”
Although the Celestiq has not been equipped with a hood ornament, Wiquist’s design has been incorporated into the EV. A three-dimensional version has been molded into glass as part of the front fender trim. Another is positioned centrally in the multi-functional controller and is encased in glass. Finally, the Goddess can be found just above the car’s charge port door.
“After more than 120 years, heritage is an inextricable element of everything Cadillac does, while our future is about perfecting the art of individuality,” said Wiquist. “That comes from greater emotional connections conveyed in design and the process of co-creating imaginative showpieces. That’s exactly what the Goddess represents with Celestiq.”