Cadillac Sollei Concept Is Sunny Yellow Perfection

• Cadillac’s concept convertible looks ready for production.
• This is essentially a convertible variant of the $300,000 hand-built Celestiq.
• Expect an Ultium-platform electric powertrain with more than 300 miles of range.

The standard of the world is a high bar. But that's the goal Cadillac has set for itself to reclaim — a task that would be a lot easier with the new Sollei concept in its portfolio.

The name is a portmanteau of "solar" and "leisure," and you can think of the Sollei like a sunny, open-air version of the hand-built Celestiq that Cadillac debuted in 2022. In fact, the new convertible concept is the same length and wheelbase as the Celestiq with the same wheelbase, and we’re told the concept is identical to its fixed-roof sibling from the windshield pillar forward. The Sollei is colossal in person — longer than a standard-wheelbase Escalade — and each door measures 68 inches long.

The extended hood, 23-inch wheels and slim LED taillight detailing stand out, but the concept's presence is defined by its color. Manila Cream paint over Solar Yellow upholstery, the Sollei screams summer. Although the paint is a solid color, the interior leather wears an iridescent metallic finish that will shine in the sunlight when the Sollei debuts on the lawn at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in August.

The rest of the interior is just as noteworthy. Laser-cut wood lines the door panels and an aluminum motif by the cup holders shows two of the Sollei’s core influences: the 1937 V16 Dual-Cowl Phaeton and the 1959 Eldorado Biarritz Convertible. Cadillac installed the curved 35-inch instrument cluster/infotainment display and 20-inch passenger display we’ve previously seen in the Escalade and Escalade IQ, too, but we’re more enamored with the experience in the back seat.

From there, you can indulge in Mercedes-Benz S-Class levels of legroom and ogle the yacht-like handcrafted wood marquetry on the front seatbacks. Cadillac leaned into natural materials here — all that looks like wood is wood and all that appears metallic is metal. That’s part of the reason there’s no chrome.

Cadillac includes another treat between the rear seats. You have your typical crystal drinkware behind a glass door, but there’s also room in that console for a unique addition. Cadillac decided to eschew the typical luxury themes of picnics or hunting to appeal to a different type of leisure: birdwatching.

The concept includes a quartet of glass bird calls that, when blown, replicate the sounds of four American songbirds including the goldfinch and yellow chickadee. (Cadillac really leaned into that color theme.) Once said birds arrive, the conceptual owner could sketch them in a leather-bound pad matching the color of the interior.

One aspect of the Sollei gets us excited more than anything. The car we saw appears so ready for production, we wouldn't be surprised to see it roll off an assembly line next week. Cadillac’s convertible lacks all the camera mirrors and space-age materials we expect of a one-off concept. It shares plenty of parts with the Celestiq other than the folding soft top, and we’re told it would theoretically ride on the same Ultium platform, which would mean around 600 horsepower, 300 miles of range, and a 0-to-60 mph time of less than 4 seconds. If (when) it goes into production, it’ll be Cadillac’s first convertible since the XLR.

The Sollei would also have nearly zero competition. The concept we saw is way bigger than a Mercedes-AMG SL, a Bentley Continental GT Convertible, or an Aston Martin DB12 Volante, with an interior that would put all three to shame. Perhaps the closest peer would be a Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe, but that car hasn’t been sold since 2016.

Just don’t think you’ll be able to get one for the same price as an Escalade. The hand-built Celestiq costs buyers around $300,000 plus any customizations; we imagine a loaded Sollei with all the bespoke options could approach half a million. Based on what we’ve seen, though, that doesn’t seem as outlandish as it might sound.