Cadillac Lyriq Design Details Tease GM's More Memorable EV

Cadillac will unveil its new Lyriq all-electric crossover SUV on August 6, but it can't apparently resist the urge to tease with new images released of the upcoming EV. The first of Cadillac's new line-up of electrified vehicles, and indeed the first of General Motors' models to use its new Ultium platform, the Lyriq promises to kick off what the automaker behemoth has promised will be 20 new electric vehicles across its brands by 2023.

That'll include the GMC Hummer EV, which we now know won't be just one electric pickup but a new family of models. GMC confirmed it would be building an SUV version of the new all-electric Hummer earlier this month, dropping a teaser image of the car yesterday.

For Cadillac, there are already five EVs intended to use the Ultium platform and battery technology. Lyriq will be the first, but the automaker is also planning a "globally sized luxury three-row SUV" according to GM, and an "attainable luxury" smaller electric SUV. We're expecting those to be sized along the lines of the current XT6 and XT4, respectively.

The Escalade will inspire a full-size, three-row luxury SUV that's all-electric too. It's unclear whether that will share the Escalade name, and a hybrid model is conscious by its absence from the new 2021 Escalade line-up we've seen so far.

Then there'll be the car we're arguably most intrigued by. The Cadillac Celestiq Statement Vehicle is, as the name suggests, the flagship of the range and the car that Caddy and GM expect to epitomize just what Ultium is capable of. Figure on an EV that's hand-assembled and features bespoke detailing, as Celestiq tries to show Bentley and Rolls-Royce that American automakers are their equals in "ultra-lux" design and finish.

Before that, though, there's Lyriq to see. The EV was meant to have made its debut already, but Cadillac's unveil plans were delayed by the current global crisis. Instead, the crossover will get a virtual reveal on August 6, kicking off at 7pm ET.

Today, we're seeing the car in profile again, with its sharply tapering rear roofline much in keeping with "SUV coupe" styling language we've seen recently from other automakers. Cadillac also showed us the Lyriq's aerodynamic wheels, which make a feature out of their air-guiding insets. Inside there'll be a vast digital dashboard.

Finally, there's the charging hatch for the car, which actually consists of most of the panel behind the rear wheels. That will hinge forward – leaving behind the Cadillac-crest shaped side light – to expose the charging port, which supports DC fast charging. No shortage of drama to that process, then, which is just what Cadillac needs to help Lyriq stand out in the growing electric crowd.