Cadillac’s hand-built Celestiq outprices Rolls-Royce’s Ghost, but does it really outclass it?
- 2026 Cadillac Celestiq starts above $400,000 before personalization.
- It costs more than the Rolls-Royce Ghost, the luxury benchmark.
- Celestiq’s outcome could determine Cadillac’s return to elite ranks.
The Celestiq is a truly wild car. Cadillac’s ultra-luxury flagship is a hand-built, no-expense-spared, electric sedan meant to re-establish the brand among the world’s finest. It’s a gutsy move from a brand that once defined American luxury and now seems intent on clawing back that glory, this time under the fluorescent buzz of the electric age.
More: Does This Look Like A $400,000 Rolls Royce Competitor To You?
And its price tag matches, if not wildly overshoots, those aspirations. The first model year already hovered north of $340,000, but with the 2026 update, Cadillac has decided subtlety isn’t part of the brief. Prices now sit in the “low” $400,000s (GM won’t say exactly where) and that’s before you start ticking boxes for personalization or options.
American Luxury Reimagined
In other words, it’s way more expensive than a Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II which starts at $357,750 and climbs to $422,750, depending on trim, though, as anyone familiar with Rolls options knows, that figure only goes one way once the bespoke requests start piling up.
That’s right: America’s flagship sedan eclipses what is considered the golden standard of the world when it comes to ultra premium car brands, a Rolls-Royce – at least on price.
Cadillac Celestiq
Photos Michael Gauthier for Carscoops, Cadillac
Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II
Photos Rolls-Royce
Undoubtedly, the Celestiq is aspirational from Cadillac’s standpoint. It’s a moonshot. It packs 600 horsepower (447 kW), 640 lb-ft (867 Nm) of torque, and a zero-to-sixty time of just 3.8 seconds. Granted, it’s not just about power, as it also comes with high-end materials that each buyer can individually choose.
At 224.3 inches (5,695 mm) long, 79.9 inches (2,030 mm) wide, and 57.9 inches (1,471 mm) tall, riding on a 126.7-inch (3,220 mm) wheelbase, it’s about the size of a chauffeur-driven limousine.
Old-World Grace, New-World Ambition
Does all that make it worthy of a price tag in the same realm as a Rolls, though? Well, maybe, if you know what Cadillac’s trying to pull off. But for everyone else – and let’s be honest – when it comes to brand cachet, Rolls-Royce still lives on a different planet.
More: 5 Must-Know Details About The New Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II
The Ghost, which is available in two wheelbase lengths, leverages a 6.75-liter V12 with a little less power (563 hp and 627 lb-ft or 850 Nm of torque) ) and the kind of imperceptible thrust that defines the brand. The 0 to 60 mph takes 4.6 seconds (4.8 to 100 km/h) and the top speed is limited to 155 mph (250 km/h).
It’s more about craftsmanship than it is bleeding-edge technology. Cars like the Ghost feel more like driving a bank vault lavished in sheepskin than piloting the car of tomorrow.
Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II
Photos Rolls-Royce
Cadillac Celestiq
Photos Michael Gauthier for Carscoops, Cadillac
The standard Rolls-Royce Ghost comes in at 218.3 inches (5,546 mm) long, 77.9 inches (1,978 mm) wide, and 61.9 inches (1,572 mm) tall, with a 129.7-inch (3,295 mm) wheelbase, while the Extended version stretches to 225.2 inches (5,715 mm) with a 137.0-inch (3,467 mm) wheelbase.
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What if the point isn’t necessarily how the car moves or what it feels like from behind the wheel? Perhaps the focus is on status. Right now, we have no idea how the future will view the Celestiq. Maybe it’ll be the car that gave Cadillac the foothold into ultra-luxury it wanted. Maybe it’ll go down as a weird flop.
Either way, buyers already know exactly how the current Ghost will go down. It’ll be one more very special product of a long-loved uber-luxury brand. It may depreciate like a rock a few years from now, but even so, it’ll turn heads for decades to come.
So the question is on you. If you could afford to, which would you pick? The latest and greatest Cadillac, or the offering of Britain’s most legendary coachbuilder?
