The Cadillac Escala is a

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle or show vehicle) is a car made to showcase new styling or new technology. Concept cars are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not ...

built by

Cadillac Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac (), is the luxury vehicle division (business), division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China; Cadillac models are ...

for the 2016 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The last of a trifecta of concept cars initially conceived in 2007, it is preceded by the Ciel and Elmiraj, which had debuted back in 2011 and 2013 respectively. The Escala previews Cadillac's future design language, being an evolution of the Art and Science design philosophy that has been used on its cars for over a decade. The Escala was first announced via a trailer video on August 15, 2016. Its name, revealed one day before its public debut, derives from the Spanish word for ''scale''. This refers to the Escala using an elongated version of the Cadillac CT6's

Omega Omega (, ; uppercase Ω, lowercase ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and last letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numerals, Greek numeric system/isopsephy (gematria), it has a value ...

underpinnings, being approximately six inches longer than the latter. The car was unveiled at a cocktail party in

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), commonly known simply as Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, located on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 3,220, down from 3,722 a ...

on August 18, 2016, which was attended by Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen, GM Vice President of Global Design Michael Simcoe and Cadillac's executive director of global design Andrew Smith, along with several other executives. Although yet to be officially confirmed for production, it was described by de Nysschen as "a potential addition to our existing product plan” in a press release, its ultimate fate determined by the fertility of the flagship luxury sedan market. However, it previews the design, powertrain and other advanced technological features currently in development that is set to appear on other upcoming Cadillac production cars in the future.

Overview

Exterior

The exterior, painted in a nine-layer pearlescent blackish-brown "Gaia" finish, blends Cadillac's trademark Art and Science era design cues with more contemporary ones, being the first Cadillac to feature horizontal headlamps since the

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

was discontinued in 2004. This was done to give the car a more understated, harmonious look, in which simplicity is a prevalent theme on the Escala's design. They are complemented by two vertical strips of

OLED An organic light-emitting diode (OLED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a type of light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is an organic compound film that emits light in respon ...

daytime running lamps positioned just below the headlamps. A monotone Cadillac emblem adorns the three-dimensional mesh grille, patterned with several miniature crests. The car is designed as a four-door hardtop with a sloping rear roofline, giving a more athletic appearance, with a liftback tailgate at the rear end. When the trunk is opened, the cargo floor rises up to enable easier access to luggage. Also present on the car's C-pillar is the Hofmeister kink, a rarely seen trait for a Cadillac, possibly paying homage to the

fastback A fastback is an automotive styling feature, defined by the rear of the car having a single slope from the roof to the tail. The kammback is not a fastback design with a roofline that tapers downward toward the car's rear before being cut of ...

Cadillac coupés of the late 1940s. Cadillac's signature vertical taillights are reworked, now added with a horizontal strip. It sits on 22-inch dual layer spoke wheels, fitted with 20-inch tires co-developed with

Michelin Michelin ( , ), in full ("General Company of the Michelin Enterprises P.L.S."), is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes '' région'' of France. It is the second largest t ...

that has the Cadillac chevron exclusively engraved onto the tire tread. The newly designed front fascia is expected to make its way to Cadillac production models starting in late 2018.

Interior

The handcrafted "dual personality" interior is designed specifically to combine driver technology amenities and rear-seat passenger comfort into one automobile. A wide, three-layered curved OLED screen developed with

Samsung Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...

stretches across the dashboard in the driver's compartment, while accompanied by smaller, retractable displays at the back of the front seats for rear passengers. The normal metal top is replaced by a panoramic glass roof, which along with the absence of B-pillars gives the car a more "airy" feel associated with Cadillac

hardtop A hardtop is a rigid form of automobile roof, typically metal, and integral to the vehicle's design, strength, and style. The term typically applies to a pillarless hardtop, a car body style without a B-pillar. The term "pillared hardtop" was ...

s from the 1950s to 1970s. Much of the upholstery, including the seatbacks, door panel and lower dashboard, is finished in a pale gray leather similar to those used in designer suits, contrasted by woven white wool. The famous Cadillac flying goddess, designed by William Schnell in 1930 and having last appeared in the 1950s, returns after a long hiatus in the form an etching on the car's glass

infotainment Infotainment (a portmanteau of ''information'' and ''entertainment''), also called soft news as a way to distinguish it from serious journalism or hard news, is a type of media, usually television or online, that provides a combination of inform ...

controller, which replaces the older CUE system.

Powertrain

The Escala is powered by a Cadillac-exclusive 4.2-liter twin-turbocharged dual overhead camshaft

V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight- cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. Origins The first known V8 was the Antoinette, designed by Léon Levavasseur, a ...

generating 500 horsepower, which is due to be introduced as a more powerful engine option in the CT6. The engine uses General Motors' new

Active Fuel Management Active Fuel Management (formerly known as displacement on demand (DoD)) is a trademarked name for the automobile variable displacement technology from General Motors. It allows a V6 or V8 engine to "turn off" half of the cylinders under light-l ...

cylinder deactivation system, allowing the engine to run on four cylinders for better fuel efficiency. The car shares the mixed-material

rear-wheel-drive Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars. Most rear-whee ...

Omega platform with the CT6, although enlarged by 4.7 inches, giving the car an extra 6.5 inches in overall length when compared to the latter.

Cancelled Cadillac CT8

The Cadillac CT8, a flagship sedan larger than the CT6 was cancelled by GM. GM patent filings indicate a possible coupe version of the CT8.

Media

The Escala was featured in a

advertisement as a symbol of what Cadillac's future will look like.

References

External links

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Cadillac Accessories
{{Cadillac Vehicles Escala Cars introduced in 2016 Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Full-size vehicles Luxury vehicles Limousines