High-Tech Cadillac Elevated Velocity EV Concept Is Inspired By Desert Polo, Which Is A Real Sport

Cadillac has revealed a string of beautiful, powerful concepts over the last few years, and now it is bringing a Dakar-inspired high-performance crossover EV to the sun-lit shores of Monterey Bay. While the new Elevated Velocity concept isn’t likely to become part of a desert racing series, it does pull inspiration from another, much fancier desert sport: desert polo, which was not a thing I knew existed before this. The frunk even houses all the accessories you need to play the sport, a very fun follow up to the bird call set and fun drinks dispenser the brand included in the adorable Cadillac Sollei concept we also saw last year. Cadillac’s concept goodies are second to none.

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The fully drivable concept borrows a ton of design cues from the company’s V-Series vehicles, as well as its Opulent Velocity concept from last year, and also highlights where Cadillac design will likely head in the future. The body shape of this concept is pretty obviously inspired by rallying and Dakar and, while the exterior is graceful and intricate, it hardly hints at the wildly inventive and luxury of the interior hiding beneath all that fiberglass. In fact, that’s how Cadillac came up with the name; it’s elevated in physical size, thanks to an air suspension and 24-inch wheels, and elevated in terms of luxury thanks to its opulent, color-drenched interior. The Velocity part of the name comes from its “daring off-road performance,” of course.

It has gullwing doors, because of course it does. Besides light bars there is no better way to tell your brand’s fans that this is a car from The Future than having pain-in-the-parking lot doors. Cadillac also included gullwing doors on its Opulent Velocity concept from last year, so we might want to keep our eyes peeled for a gullwing production car in the future, since the brand loves them so much. Inside the doors are 3D-printed black crystal patterns meant to mimic the motion of the stamping of desert polo players’ horses and the movement of their mallets. Cadillac says the design of the Elevated Velocity embodies the company’s “Art of Exhilaration” design language, and the Elevated Opulence very much looks like a Celestiq-style vehicle proudly meant for carving up sand dunes.

The car itself is painted in an icy Vapor Blue paint with blue-tinged glass in the windshield and side windows, which really sets off a dark Morello and Garnet red interior. The lifted luxury crossover comes with 24-inch tires, perfect for playing in the sand or driving down a highway, and the wheels are made from flax fiber and black crystal tint acrylic and feature light panels, which Cadillac says it is working hard to bring to production and hopes to test more on this concept.

Inside is where the Elevated Velocity shines — literally. The interior greets its owner with subtle soft white light in the floor, seats, instrument panel, doors and steering wheel. The screen-adorned steering wheel displays an animation reminiscent of shifting sands, bringing that Dakar feel front the exterior into the interior. In Elevate Mode, the Velocity becomes something of a recovery center for its occupants. Here, Cadillac would take over the driving via a Level 4 automated driving program (remember, this is a future vehicle from the future) while the car monitors the exterior temperature, verses interior temperature, verses the actual body temperature of the driver, and adjusts the climate control accordingly.

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The vivid hue of the cloth interior is meant to mimic the mentally calming rays of infrared light, with actual infrared lights shining on the seat backs. The cabin air is filtered for particulates, so if you get in with sand on your shoes the sand won’t just float around your beautiful red interior. It also imparts a nice fragrance into the cabin. Lights along the door sync up with the car’s occupants breathing, connecting your car with your very being. 

In fact, breath and recovery are a huge part of what would normally look like a dastardly deep red interior. This is a Cadillac for people who exert themselves in the desert, probably while playing desert polo. A flowing light on the steering column can be used to run the driver through some breathwork exercises.

When in Velocity Mode, all of the car’s attention is on the driver and their cockpit. That soothing soft white lights that initially greeted the driver dims, allowing whoever is in the pilot seat to focus on the task at hand. This concept is completely drivable, according to Cadillac, though it’s unclear what sort of powertrain it uses and whether the concept’s selectable drive modes and cool functions actually work. There’s e-Velocity mode, which is similar to the sporty V-mode Cadillac uses today, and Terra Mode that allows for all that Dakar style off-roading you’ll clearly be doing in your Cadillac, both of which have different tuning for the powertrain and suspension. Something called Sand Vision works like Cadillac’s night vision and allows drivers to see better during a sand storm. A feature called Elements Defy keeps your bodywork looking shiny even after a romp in the dune using dust-phobic vibration, which sounds ridiculous and I can’t wait to learn more about it.

The Cadillac Elevated Velocity will make its public debut at The Quail on August 15, and it will surely be popping up at other events during Car Week.

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