Cadillac’s other-worldly concept car wants to take you on a voyage to inner space.
Unveiled as part of CES 2022, the Cadillac InnerSpace concept is a two-seater electric, autonomous grand tourer.
It features a swoopy silhouette, albeit with some of the angular lines expected of a modern Cadillac plus a striking boat tail rear.
The illuminated badge and closed-off grille area give it a familial resemblance to the upcoming Lyriq crossover, but this is very much concept fantasy overall.
The roof opens with the doors for comfortable entry and egress, with the seats pivoting outwards when the doors are opened.
The InnerSpace has an expansive panoramic glass roof, though you don’t have to enjoy the views.
You can sit back in the couch-like front bench and take in the panoramic SMD LED display, which Cadillac says offers a choice of “Augmented Reality Engagement, Entertainment and Wellness Recovery themes”.
It runs on GM’s new Ultifi software platform, allowing for additional themes and features to be added over-the-air.
The technological showcase also features AI-driven biometric input and interfaces, though what you won’t find is a steering wheel.
The battery modules are spaced out in the concept, allowing designers to give the InnerSpace a low-slung look and feel. Cadillac says the InnerSpace has a sports car-like seating position.
Cabin noise is kept to a minimum, thanks in part to the Goodyear tyres with SoundComfort technology.
Goodyear technology also includes SightLine, which communicates information about tyre pressure, temperature and load.
The tyres also use soybean oil and rice husk-based silica instead of petroleum-based oil as the key ingredient in their construction.
While it doesn’t preview a production vehicle, the concept is part of the Cadillac Halo Concept Portfolio and exists to showcase Cadillac’s vision of “personal autonomous future mobility”.
Pictured: PersonalSpace, SocialSpace and InnerSpace
“[The Halo Concept Portfolio cars] are visions for the next decade and beyond, showing the possibilities enabled by General Motors’ comprehensive approach to autonomous drive technology with the goal of a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion,” said Bryan Nesbitt, GM executive director, Global Advanced Design and Global Architecture Studio.
It’s rather more conventional in shape than the first two Halo concepts, revealed at last year’s CES: the PersonalSpace single-seater aircraft and the six-seater SocialSpace pod.
Cadillac will also imminently reveal a fourth Halo concept, the OpenSpace, releasing two mysterious teasers (below) that resemble a chic apartment more than a vehicle.
While the InnerSpace isn’t indicative of an imminent road car, Cadillac does have a flagship offering waiting in the wings.
It has teased the Celestiq, a large dual-motor all-wheel drive sedan that draws inspiration from the Escala concept.
The Celestiq features a full-width dash display and a four-quadrant, suspended particle smart glass roof, allowing each vehicle occupant to set their own level of transparency
It’ll also be one of the first GM models with Ultra Cruise, which the company says is “designed to ultimately enable hands-free driving in 95 per cent of all driving scenarios”.
The system will debut on a Cadillac model in 2023 – possibly the Celestiq – and the company says it will initially be usable on more than two million miles (3.2 million kilometres) of paved road in the United States and Canada.
It will eventually be usable on every paved road in those countries, or more than 3.4 million miles (5.4 million kilometres) overall.
GM is calling the new system a Level 2 autonomous driving system and it uses GM’s Ultifi software platform and Vehicle Intelligence Platform, with features and services capable of being rolled out during ‘frequent’ over-the-air updates.
It uses a combination of LiDAR, radars and cameras, with an integrated LiDAR behind the windshield. GM says this array of technology allows for full 360-degree perception around the vehicle.
Click the images to view the full InnerSpace gallery.
