Cadillac XLR.
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Should a sportier 2-seater Cadillac make a return as a new EV based on the GM Ultium platform?
The XLR came out in 2003. Its design was based on the 1999 Cadillac Evoq Concept. The production model stayed surprisingly close to the stunning concept and GM designers did a fantastic job on both cars.
Of course, the XLR was never intended to be a huge hit and Cadillac didn’t have a suitable platform for a 2-seater car. GM decided the Chevrolet Corvette platform would make a great sporty Cadillac. And why not?
GM threw everything into the XLR. All the tech and luxury they could imagine. That included adaptive suspension, touchscreen GPS, Bulgari clock and instrument cluster, heated and cooling seats, and more. Including, of course, a powered hard top.
The XLR didn’t inherit the Corvette’s V8 and instead used the Northstar V8 used in other Cadillac models. With 320HP it was probably more than enough for a luxury car. However, an XLR-V trim was introduced in 2005 with 443HP from a Supercharged Northstar engine.
I think the XLR still looks great today. However, they are getting very rare. Total sales of the whole production run until 2009 were only 15,460 units. At over $75,000 in 2003, it was an expensive car, as a fancy Cadillac should be. Equivalent to around $122,000 today. But not nearly as crazy as the new Celestiq starting at over $340,000.
I really think Cadillac could use another flagship. One much more realistically priced, yet still expensive. Something like a new XLR for the EV age would be pretty nice…