If the Escala concept is an accurate predictor, Cadillac’s biggest sedan will be an Audi A7–like hatchback and will wear the face of a remorseless predator. From the October 2016 issue It’s handy for Cadillac that the name of its latest concept car, Escala (or “scale” in Spanish), sounds a lot like Escalade. There’s a nice link there to the brand’s best-selling SUV, plus it slides off the tongue more easily than, say, CT8, which is what the Escala might be called in the very likely event that some version of it reaches production.
This concept, which made its debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in August, is the latest in a string of Cadillac show cars (see Ciel and Elmiraj) hinting at a large flagship to compete with luxury icons such as the Mercedes-Benz S-class and the BMW 7-series.
The Escala’s dimensions confirm those targets and would make it the biggest car in Cadillac’s stable. The brand’s upcoming twin-turbo 4.2-liter DOHC V-8 powers the Escala and is a good bet for any production model to follow. Based on the Omega platform, which it shares with Cadillac’s CT6, the Escala grows in all the dimensions you’d expect a concept car to grow.
“It has a longer dash-to-axle, is wider, lower, and has bigger wheels than CT6,” says Taki Karras, the Escala’s exterior-design manager. Its wheelbase is longer than the CT6’s by 4.7 inches while overall length grows by 6.5. Front- and rear-track widths grow by 2.7 and 2.5 inches, respectively. In other words, it’s proportioned perfectly to be toned down for production and still be the right size for the segment.
To the current Cadillac models’ vertical lighting arrangements, the Escala concept adds horizontal elements.
Exterior
The Escala ushers in a new design language, but though the aging Art and Science theme is gone, it’s not totally forgotten. Expect the brand’s heritage, and not an overall theme, to drive design, according to Cadillac reps. So the Escala keeps the lineal refinement and sophistication but loses the hard-edged design cues of Art and Science; it’s not unlike what Cadillac did in the early ’60s by leaving towering tail fins behind.
Karras uses the 1967 Eldorado coupe to demonstrate what he hopes to capture with the Escala. Simplicity is a word he uses a lot. “Luxury is about whispering and not overpowering,” he says. We wonder if anyone whispered Audi S7 to him as he penned the Escala’s sweeping rear roofline. Yes, the Escala is a liftback. In fact, one of the few items sure to be axed from a production version is the show car’s high trunk liftover. Its tail lacks the necessary cutline to create a bumper-height trunk opening. Typical Mercedes buyers aren’t likely to lift an international-sized suitcase to bellybutton level, but, if they did, the Escala offers a load floor that rises automatically to receive luggage.
Vertical light arrangements, long-standing Cadillac design elements, remain on the Escala. Unlike the cars in Cadillac’s current lineup, however, the Escala’s nose also includes a distinctly horizontal LED array, which serves as both daytime running lights and turn signals.
The brushed-aluminum brightwork on the bumpers and front doors is accented with a polished beveled edge. There’s a large aluminum element spanning the cutline between the front doors and fenders that moves with the doors, submerging into the body when they’re opened. “It’s designed to look functional, like it supports the door,” says Karras.
Twenty-two-inch two-piece wheels neatly hide the lug nuts, and they wear tires with chevron tread patterns.
Interior
Interior-design manager Jennifer Kraska emphasizes that the Escala’s economy of lines continues inside. But, she says, “simple is hard. It can easily fall apart and look unrefined.”
Brushed-aluminum, American walnut, and leather trim abound in the cabin. Unlike in most concept cars, though, so does fabric. In fact, the organic LED instrument panel—a thin, layered arrangement—floats in a sea of fabric and wood.
Minor concept-car contrivances aside, the Escala appears closer to reality than its Ciel and Elmiraj predecessors. The platform, the engine, the basic shape, and even the promise of a flagship model from Cadillac’s CEO, Johan de Nysschen, all exist, making it likely that an Escala with a window sticker will soon appear in some form.
