This Gorgeous Cadillac Coupe Was Never Meant to be Seen
The General Motors Design team created this amazing Cadillac coupe concept knowing it would never be realized.
DC Comics seminal story Crisis on Infinite Earths taught us that for every choice made there is an Earth from another dimension in which the opposite choice was made. That means that there is a world in which this amazing Cadillac coupe concept made it to production and is being driven by folks with big smiles on their faces. Unfortunately, we live on the Earth in which General Motors design team created this handsome, sporty coupe explicitly knowing that it will never be produced. Why torture us?
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The Cadillac Expressive Coupe
Once General Motors Design revealed this concept publicly on social media this month, we had to know more. Though, there are precious few official details about this coupe’s background. It’s called the Cadillac Expressive Coupe. We also know that General Motors never intended for this coupe to see the light of day. Furthermore, the Expressive Coupe isn’t the only such concept. “The intent of these concepts is not for public reveal or to impact specific vehicle programs, but instead to spur collaboration and discussion across teams,” according to a General Motors representative we spoke with. It's only being seen now because it was pulled from GM’s design archives for its “Eyes on Design” event.
Why Did Cadillac Give Up on Coupes?
It’s not like Cadillac is a stranger to coupes. In recent history there’s been the CTS, XLR, ELR, and ATS. None of those coupes were bad but they weren’t mind blowing. The XLR was experimental and cool but too pricy. The CTS had great power and but middling fuel economy and a small interior. The ELR and ATS were fun, but both had small engines and lacked power.
In the end Cadillac decided it rather stick with luxury sport sedans than try to pull market share away from M3 shoppers. However, this Expressive Coupe could have been a contender. It doesn’t have polarizing nostrils like the M3, and with a LT2 V-8, it would have made comparable horsepower. Sure, it probably would have been heavier than the M3, but a supercharged V-Series version would have more than made up for it.
Expressive Interior
The Expressive Coupe’s interior images tease a cabin that would have made anything from Germany jealous. It strikes a pleasing balance between leather and metal surfaces with uniquely shaped seats that look great but probably wouldn’t pass safety regulations. As usual, the rear seats look like they couldn’t accommodate humans taller than 5 feet, but they look great! A glimpse at the center console shows what appears to be an iDrive-like navigation dial which would have been “dated” a few years ago. However, in today’s age of finicky touchscreen displays, intuitive tactile navigation controls are always a bonus.
Could Expressive Coupe Ever Exist?
General Motors Design has already made it clear that the Expressive Coupe was simply an exercise to get the creative juices flowing. However, since this thing has gone public there have been pleas to bring the Expressive Coupe to life, but how could they do it?
With Corvettes now rear-engined, this couldn’t borrow that platform. That leaves the Camaro. While it’s true that 2024 is the last year for the model, perhaps the platform could live on as a Cadillac? Some tweaks would have to be made, but it could happen. Okay maybe not, but we can dream. While we figure out how to convince Cadillac to get cracking on this coupe, you may want to learn about another abandoned General Motors concept that could have potentially saved Pontiac from its untimely demise.
Andrew Beckford’s passion for cars started as a middle schooler when his friend Richie explained how an internal combustion engine works. He was bitten by the bug and the rest, as they say, is history. He dug deep into the tuner scene and eventually wrote for Turbo Magazine, Import Tuner, Super Street. He covered car shows, feature builds, and reviewed racing games for those magazines in addition to covering motorsports including Formula Drift, Indy Car, and F1 for his personal blog. Eventually Beckford joined MotorTrend to cover the daily automotive news beat. Besides being a gearhead, Beckford has been a gamer since the ’80s and is a huge fan of the arcade racing games of the ’90s like Daytona USA, SEGA Rally, and Ridge Racer. Beckford’s a movie buff as well, especially comic book films from DC and Marvel. When car culture crosses over with gaming and entertainment, rest assured Beckford is aware of it. In addition to serving as a consultant on a “triple A” racing titles, he’s reviewed major racing games such as Forza Motorsport, Need for Speed, Gran Turismo, F1, and more. He’s also interviewed blockbuster directors including Steven Caple Jr. (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts) and Neill Blomkamp (Gran Turismo). His biggest profile to date was with Robert Downey Jr. on his love affair with cars and his show Downey’s Dream Cars on MAX. Beckford’s profile of Downey Jr. was the first print cover story written by an African American in MotorTrend’s history. Along with KJ Jones, Andrew Beckford also heads up MotorTrend’s celebration of Black History Month by spotlighting diverse voices in the automotive industry and motorsports. Beckford’s first car was a 1982 Nissan Stanza affectionately named “Stanley” by his late mother.
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