The Cadillac Sollei Concept Is A Luxury Convertible For Birdwatchers

Many, many moons ago, an open-top Cadillac was the ultimate car to be seen in, a rolling expression of opulence topped off with pastel colours, chrome and tailfins. The company, though, hasn’t made a convertible since the XLR, a decent if slightly confused Mercedes SL competitor built on a C6 Corvette platform. This, however – the Cadillac Sollei – is an exploration of what future Caddy drop-tops could look like.

That name is a portmanteau of ‘sol’, the Spanish word for sun, and the first syllable of ‘leisure’, which hints at the Sollei’s imagined purpose. It looks like a two-door convertible version of the Celestiq, Caddy’s mega-money, ultra-exclusive electric limo. It has those same long, thin LED strips both front and rear. The lemony hue that pervades the exterior and interior is Manila Cream, a colour taken from Cadillac’s 1957 and ’58 ranges.

On the Sollei, though, the exterior is really just a means to an end – it’s the interior where all the special stuff is happening. Those two long doors open up to four seats, all trimmed in magnificently sumptuous Nappa leather. It’s not all dead cow, mind – the wireless charging pads and door pockets are trimmed in mycelium, a fabric made from the root structure of mushrooms.

Much of the interior is trimmed in unstained wood veneer, hand-cut and laid into some art deco-style patterns along the doors, on the seat backs and down the centre console. Elsewhere, rear passengers will find a drinks chiller with a power-operated glass door and crystal-cut tumblers inside. 126 colours can be set for the ambient lighting – impressive, considering we can only think of about 20.

The Sollei is designed to show off the kind of bespoke commissions Cadillac could create for wealthy customers, and the hypothetical buyer of this one is a bit of a twitcher – it features a case containing a selection of bird call whistles and a leather-bound journal full of hand-painted illustrations for the wealthy birdwatcher to tick off their sightings. Expect this particular feature to appear on the options list for a CT4 in approximately never.

As for the rest of the car, Caddy makes no mention of a prospective production run. However, given it appears to be based on the production Celestiq, and is designed to show off the scope of the company’s ability with bespoke creations, you could try heading to Detroit with a healthy bank balance and a blank cheque.