In order to look toward the future, Celestiq reintroduces the Cadillac Goddess, the brand’s iconic, expressive sign of performance and workmanship. The Cadillac Goddess, designed to symbolize the brand’s elegance and spirit of unmatched swiftness and strength, was featured on the hoods of the majority of models from 1930 through 1956, and it made a second appearance on the custom 1959 Eldorado Brougham.
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Cadillac Goddess – the symbol of legendary heritage
It makes a comeback on the brand-new Celestiq as a nod to Cadillac’s legendary design heritage and a fresh representation of the company’s individualized, handmade creativity.
“Celestiq is the beginning of the future for Cadillac, conveying the artistic innovation the brand is bringing to luxury electric vehicles. We wanted this flagship EV to embody the significant heritage of the brand in a truly meaningful way, with the Goddess representing the absolute pinnacle of bespoke craftsmanship from Cadillac.” said Bryan Nesbitt, executive director of Cadillac Design.
On the Celestiq’s front quarter panel and within the multi-function controller, you may find today’s Goddess. The Goddess is housed in a front quarter panel trim piece made of billet aluminum machined, polished, brushed, and tinted.
The Goddess on the center-stage, lighted, and glass-encased infotainment controller is prominently shown within. The glass Goddess is guaranteed always to be erect since the metal dial rotates independently of her.
A ring of light that reacts when the car is plugged in surrounds the Celestiq charging connector. Clients will get visual indicators that their car is charged when they start and stop the charging process. Customers will see an illuminated Goddess logo above the charging port, which symbolizes how electricity drives Celestiq and Cadillac as a whole.
1930, the Goddess’ first appearance
In the early years of the car, automobiles lacked instruments that monitored the temperature of the coolant. As a result, the radiator-mounted Moto-Meter accessory temperature gauge was developed.
It spread widely, but by the 1920s, automobile makers had started to include coolant temperature gauges in the interior instrument clusters of their vehicles, quickly superseding the Moto-Meter. Owners continued to seek hood-mounted decorations as status and opulence markers.
To improve the appearance and customization of automobiles, more beautiful versions (without the temperature gauge) were developed. They came in a variety of shapes, but they almost always featured recognizable human or animal mascots that suggested power or speed.
The Heron mascot and the Cadillac Goddess originally appeared together in 1930. After just four years, Heron was replaced as the exclusive representation of the brand for more than the next two decades by the Goddess.
The 1959 Eldorado Brougham featured it last
Between 1928 and 1929, William N. Schnell of Ternstedt Manufacturing Company, a division of General Motors in charge of all GM brightwork, created the first Cadillac Goddess. The first Goddess was hailed as a piece of art that captured “the exact essence of unequaled swiftness and strength, mixed with elegance and perfect balance” at the time it was created.
The sculpture’s long, sweeping lines, which were made available on Cadillac’s V-8, V-12, and V-16 models, were also intended to represent “the modern beauty and fleetness” of the brand.
However, the Goddess wasn’t a regular feature on Cadillac automobiles until 1933, when Chris J. Klein and John R. Morgan, both of Ternstedt Manufacturing, created a new version. Klein was given charge of the sculpting team at GM Design soon after creating the 1933 goddess.
The Goddess was first exclusively offered on the Cadillac V-16, a statement of the vehicle’s strength and status. However, until the end of their manufacture, the “Sixteens” carried a unique variant, utilizing the 1933 design through 1937 before shifting to an upgraded design from 1938–1940. It was used throughout the range in a redesigned form in 1934 for V-8 and V-12 models.
In 1941, a new Goddess was chosen for all models when the manufacture of the Cadillac V-12 and V-16 came to an end. Under the guidance of renowned GM Design Vice President Harley Earl, she underwent more evolution after World War II and during the 1950s. The new designs were reputedly influenced by the same aviation influences that gave rise to tail fins and jet-engine design elements.
The Goddess’ first reign came to an end in 1956, but she returned on the 1959 Eldorado Brougham, which was only produced in limited quantities.
Modern-era “resurrection”
The Escala concept made its premiere at Pebble Beach, California, in August 2016, ushering in a new era in Cadillac design. It also signaled the start of the Cadillac design team’s mission to revive the Goddess as a source of inspiration for the next line of automobiles, ushering the company toward an all-electric future.
Richard Wiquist, a GM Design sculptor, was tasked with creating a new Goddess that both reflected Cadillac’s heritage and propelled it toward the future. He began by using the Goddess from 1933 as a starting point and worked on the 21st-century interpretation of her, eventually producing impressionistic “wings” and intricate, flowing drapery that, as usual, expressed motion.
Today’s Goddess was totally hand-sculpted and only appears on the Celestiq, indicating that each car was made specifically for it and pointing to a brighter future for future generations.
