Skip to main content

From its OLED screens to its styling, Cadillac’s Escala concept is the future of luxury

Cadillac’s fleet of luxury cars is more than capable of taking the fight to the German establishment, but it still needs a flagship. Over the past few years, Cadillac has used the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance to preview such a car with various concepts, including the Ciel convertible and Elmiraj coupe. Now, it’s back with another one.

Debuting at the 2016 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Cadillac says the Escala represents what a possible flagship model “larger, more elite, and expressive” than the recently-launched CT6 could look like. The CT6 is Cadillac’s most luxurious sedan, but it’s not quite in the same league as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and other German luxury liners.

Recommended Videos

Cadillac says the Escala (the name is Spanish for “scale”) also previews design language and technology currently under development. The styling has the same sharp edges seen on current Cadillacs, but is much more restrained. There’s less chrome, and the headlights and jowl-like daytime running lights have been slimmed down significantly. At 210.5 inches long, the four-door Escala is about 6 inches longer than a CT6.

A 4.2-liter twin-turbocharged V8 drives the rear wheels. Cadillac says this engine may be used in future production models, but won’t say how much power it produces in the Escala. The V8 has cylinder deactivation, which shuts down four cylinders under light loads to save fuel. The Escala also shares the CT6’s basic platform, which uses a mix of high-strength steel and aluminum to cut weight.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The interior was designed to have “dual personalities,” according to Cadillac, with the front emphasizing tech and the rear emphasizing “relaxation,” acting as an oasis for chauffeured passengers. The driver makes use of three curved OLED screens, which consolidate the functions of the traditional gauge cluster and center-stack screen. To help manage all of those screens and the many infotainment features they enable, Cadillac equipped the Escala with voice and gesture controls.

Read more: Nothing about Mercedes’ latest Maybach concept is subtle

While the Escala itself likely won’t go into production, some of its styling elements and technology might, according to Cadillac. As with the General Motors’ luxury brand’s previous Pebble Beach concepts, the question remains whether the Escala will foreshadow a production full-size flagship sedan, or will remain nothing more than a pretty show car.

Stephen Edelstein
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
Honda unveils sleek electric sedan and SUV prototypes at CES 2025
Honda 0 Saloon and Honda 0 SUV prototypes.

Honda’s next-generation electric vehicles are a step closer to production. At CES 2025, the automaker unveiled prototypes of the 0 Saloon and 0 SUV, the first two of its 0 Series EVs that will start rolling off assembly lines in Ohio next year.

The two EVs follow 0 Series concept cars Honda unveiled at CES 2024. These are closer to what buyers can expect to see in showrooms, hence the label of “prototype” rather than “concept.” How close exactly? When Honda unveils a prototype, that vehicle generally makes the transition to production with minimal changes. But that would be particularly remarkable here.
They still look like concept cars

Read more
Digital Trends’ Top Tech of CES 2025 Awards
Top Tech of CES

Las Vegas is overrun. Every billboard in town is shouting about AI, hotel bar tops now sport a sea of laptops, and after hours The Strip is elbow to elbow with engineers toting yard-long beers.

That means CES, the year’s biggest tech bacchanalia, has come to town, and Digital Trends editors have spent the last four days frolicking among next year’s crop of incredible TVs, computers, tablets, and EVs. We’re in heaven.

Read more
Sony and Honda’s Afeela 1 EV makes more sense at CES than in the real world
Afeela 1 front quarter view.

The Sony car is almost here. After its creation via a joint venture with Honda in 2022 and two years’ worth of prototypes, the electronics giant’s Afeela brand is finally taking reservations for its first electric vehicle, with deliveries scheduled to start in 2026.

But will it be worth the wait? Coinciding with the opening of reservations, Sony Honda Mobility brought updated prototypes of the Afeela 1 (as it’s now officially known) to CES 2025, representing what California customers (Afeela is only taking reservations in that state) who put down a $200 refundable deposit can expect when they take delivery.

Read more