Cadillac dropped several hints that it wanted to use the “IQ” as its branding for electric vehicles and started with the hand-built Celestiq before following with the Lyriq SUV. Now it’s going full tilt with the new 2024 Cadillac Escalade IQ, it’s all-electric entry into the luxury full-size SUV market—mostly because it needs to keep the Escalade name alive, while also incorporating its nascent EV sub-brand’s “-iq” naming convention. It also seems from our spy shots that the Celestiq won’t just have an influence in its naming—it will directly steer the Escalade IQ’s styling, too.
The Celestiq influences we can see are fairly obvious when looking at the wheels, but that’s not the only part and we’ll touch on more later in the story. The wheels look a lot like the ones off the Celestiq, but with a major change: the Escalade IQ’s wheels are massive 24-inch rollers with a set of Michelin Primacy tires in 275/50R24. The Celestiq’s wheels are a mere 23 inches in diameter. You can also buy 24-inch wheels on the ICE version of the Escalade, but the IQ EV will use eight-lug wheels rather than the six-lug that the gas-powered SUV will use. This falls in line with the other truckish EVs GM has built on the BT1 architecture, including the upcoming Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, and GMC Hummer EV, as these heavy platforms require more weight bearing capability.
The other Celestiq influence comes with its interior treatment as it looks like it will come with similar-looking full-width infotainment screenage. Whether the Escalade IQ’s full-width screen is the same as the Celestiq is hard to determine in these spyshots, but the overall design is the same, including the matching trim piece that separates the main display from the passenger-side one.
We can also see that the Escalade IQ benefits from the BT1 architecture by way of being further developed than you’d expect a prototype to be. With the drive and battery architecture all developed and already out in the wild, the major bits that need to be developed are mostly in the body and interior, both of which appear to be production-ready in these photos. You of course will find hints of the ICE Escalade in the IQ—including the signature vertical taillights and Escalade headlight blades—though the body of the ICE and the BEV will be different, much like the Silverado ICE and BEV versions. You won’t mistake that this is an Escalade, but you won’t be able to swap any body parts around.
Finally, we expect that both the Escalade ICE and Escalade IQ EV will both get long-wheelbase versions, as is standard in the luxury full-size SUV market and the brand strategy that Cadillac follows. The version pictured here is assumed to be the standard wheelbase version, but we fully expect the “IQL” to debut in 2024 (don’t worry, GM has a trademark out for that name already). With the prototype looking ready to display at your local Cadillac dealer, the Escalade IQ should be unwrapped from its camouflage later this year.
The only other unknowns are the electric Escalade’s battery capacity, power, and other features, but don’t be surprised if the Escalade IQ will match other BT1 architectures. Which means we also expect the IQ to have a version of “Watts to Freedom” and will definitely challenge the Escalade-V for acceleration and quarter-mile times, if the GMC Hummer EV is anything to go on.
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