The Cadillac Opulent Velocity Concept Is Amazing, But Prepare To Be Disappointed

Cadillac just showcased the Opulent Velocity Concept, but their history of bringing concepts to market suggests we'll be disappointed when it ships.

The Cadillac Opulent Velocity Concept is stunning and looks like a very advanced electric supercar. However, GM has a history of showcasing incredible prototypes going back decades that never make it to market either in their prototype form or ever, so don’t hold your breath on this design.

This, I think, is one of the big issues with the current traditional car manufacturers, they let their designers go wild at the concept stage, these designers create something amazing, then the finance folks get involved and destroy the car.

Remember the Chevrolet Volt Concept? It looked great, but then the shipping Volt came out, and it became one of the most hated cars the company has ever made. It is like bait and switch: They get you excited about a design, but when the thing actually arrives, it isn’t anything like what first got you excited.

Let’s talk about what the Opulent Velocity could be as we prepare to be disappointed with what it will be.

Cadillac Opulent Velocity

This is an amazing-looking car and may point the way towards what, at least with regard to powertrain and features, the coming fully electric Corvette will have on tap. This car was designed for Level 4 autonomous driving or two levels above what is currently on the road.

With Level 4, the cars should be able to navigate most public roads and only need human control on unmapped roads, off-road, or private property. The technology is nicely concealed in the design without all of the typical electronic warts that destroy the looks of most Level 4 prototypes.

The Opulent Velocity has massive butterfly doors, which, given their size, wouldn’t work as normal doors because they’d swing too wide. Still, this two-door design allows impressive access and will benefit older drivers and passengers (this car has a decent back seat) who can afford a car in its class. When you are older, the problem is that you can afford expensive performance cars, but getting in and out of them can be problematic.

The car has two modes: opulent, where the car drives you and luxury prevails, and velocity, where the control of the car passes to you with maximum performance.

The prototype has one of the features the industry is trying to get approved, and I think it will be a game changer if the cost doesn’t ruin it. That is full windscreen projection, so the entire windscreen can be turned into a TV screen (which is why the Level 4 autonomous driving feature is essential).

This effectively gives the passengers a drive-in theater experience even if the car is in motion. With the advanced sound systems typically put in luxury cars, I expect the experience to be far closer to what you might see in good home theater as a result.

Imagine a long trip with the family as you binge-watch the latest Netflix series or rewatch one of the movie series like The Avengers, Star Trek, or Star Wars with full fidelity. You’ll still need bathroom stops, but they should make the driver go by very quickly while the car oversees all the navigation.

Granted, any handover between the car and the driver will need to be worked out because I can see issues with the movie screen suddenly becoming the windscreen again, with seconds for the driver to figure out what freaked the car out and react to it (I expect what we’ll end up with is the car pulling over and more elegantly and slowly turning over control if there is a problem). 

Another use for this screen is to show optimal driving lines on a racecourse when in Velocity mode, which can teach you to become a better track driver. Given that this is a performance electric, expect 0-60 times in the sub-3 second range and active suspension.

Wrapping Up: A Car That Could Beat Tesla But…

 On paper, the Cadillac Opulent Velocity is a Tesla killer at the right price, but to get to the price, the finance guys at GM will kill the potential for the car as they always seem to do. This is unfortunate because, with this car, Cadillac again has the potential to create something truly unique and world-leading; I don’t think they have the will to take the risk involved and that they’d be happier with a less popular, cheaper car that wouldn’t sell well than high-performance low volume Halo car this would otherwise be.

It's a shame, but decisions like this have allowed Hyundai to pass all of the US domestic car companies and become number two to Telsa. I’m truly hoping I’m wrong because I’d love to see one on the road.

About The Author

Rob Enderle is a technology analyst at Torque News who covers automotive technology and battery development. You can learn more about Rob on Wikipedia and follow his articles on Forbes, X, and LinkedIn.