Wealthy Aussie buys $1m Cadillac Celestiq EV

An Australian collector has bought one of the world’s most exclusive cars, but there’s a catch to ownership. They cannot drive the opulent electric Cadillac on Australian roads.

The well-to-do enthusiast splashed out on a Cadillac Celestiq that starts from $US358,000. However, the price can virtually double depending on which option boxes are ticked.

Crafted as an American alternative to Rolls-Royce, the Celestiq employs meticulous attention to detail in creating an American luxury car that’s competitive at the highest echelon.

Cadillac says it can customise just about any aspect of the Celestiq, apart from one. It can’t build the vehicle in right-hand drive.

Aletha Israels, a Celestiq Concierge employed by Cadillac to keep its special customers happy, said a collector flew from Australia to Detroit to customise their dream machine.

“The intention was for the vehicle to be delivered to the States for him, not to Australia,” she said.

“A lot of our clients fly in and out on the same day in private jets.”

The 5.5m dual-motor large swoopy sedan weighs in at just under three tonnes, but with dual motors and AWD its 488kW and 877Nm output can propel it to 96km/h in 3.7sec. It has usable battery capacity of 111kWh and suggested range of 485km.