Cien, Elmiraj, Escala, Ciel–need I go on? I'm afraid that I have to because Cadillac has unearthed yet another stunning concept left on the proverbial cutting room floor. It doesn't have a name but we do know this "expressive coupe" was an internal design exercise. A comprehensive one we might add because the designers also drew up an interior.
If it looks a bit familiar, there are a couple of reasons for that. The achingly beautiful coupe takes after the Escala. Back in July 2018, a mysterious patent filing from General Motors showed this very same concept on the United States Patent and Trademark Office website. At that point, we noticed design similarities between the trademark design shown on the USPTO site and one of the Escala sketches.
Cadillac claims the unnamed coupe served as the design foundation for current products such as the CT5 and its hot CT5-V Blackwing sibling. It's easy to imagine a production version going up against the BMW M8 Coupe, but it sadly never happened. The concept is brought into the limelight via social media on GM Design's Instagram account. This reveal is the latest installment in the "From the Vault" series.
After ending production of the ATS Coupe about five years ago, Cadillac doesn’t have a two-door model in its lineup. If the stars align, there might be a hypercar down the road. Earlier this month, GM’s design boss Michael Simcoe hinted at the prospects of a flagship performance vehicle:
"Could we build a hypercar? Yes. Would we like to build one? Yes. Are we building one? That would be giving too much away."
Even a lower-tier coupe would suffice in a sea of SUVs sprinkled with a couple of sedans. A new ELR-styled car or something to that effect would provide a nice change of pace. If GM has no issues with selling a Buick luxury minivan in China, we deserve a low-slung coupe with a Cadillac crest.
However, the harsh reality is coupes are not a lucrative segment, which is why more and more automakers are giving up on selling two-door cars. It's easy for us to ask Cadillac to build this car, but there's a big risk it won't sell enough to make financial sense.
