US carmaker Cadillac has confirmed the development of a performance variant of its Lyriq mid-size electric SUV, to be known as the Lyriq-V.
In a global announcement in Sydney, General Motors Australia managing director Jess Bala confirmed the Lyriq-V would be released globally in 2025, with an Australian version of the performance electric vehicle (EV) slated to arrive in 2026.
“Very excitingly, I do have a bit of news to share today,” Ms Bala said.
“You are the first to know, anywhere in the world, that Cadillac will be introducing a V-Series Lyriq and, I can confirm that the V-Series will join the Cadillac Australia and New Zealand portfolio in 2026 as a factory right-hand-drive EV.
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“The 2026 Lyriq-V will begin production next year, with more details to be shared in January 2025.
“The Lyriq-V represents a culmination of luxury, performance, and innovation core to the Cadillac brand and signals the next phase of our EV era.”
Cadillac officials refused to shed light on further technical details of the car, but the carmaker has released a short video teaser of the upcoming model..
It is understood the Lyriq-V was developed in parallel with the regular Lyriq that is now on sale in Australia.
In garden-variety 600EV form, the regular Lyriq outputs 373kW and 600Nm, together with all-wheel drive and a nought to 100km/h time of 5.3 seconds claimed – a healthy base for a performance variant.
The Lyriq-V’s confirmation comes despite continued resistance from Cadillac in Australia to offer hot V-Series performance models including the CT5-V and CT5-V Blackwing.
Instead, Cadillac wants to focus its efforts on a pure electric line-up locally, meaning the V-Series will diversify its offering.
“We’re not giving away any of the technical specs at this point,” said GM executive vice president for global markets, Rory Harvey.
“But if you go back, the V-Series has a lot of designation and performance behind it… The only thing that I would say to you is that we don’t give the V-Series designation lightly.”
Australian deliveries of the standard Lyriq – in both Luxury and Sport guise – are due to begin in late 2024 or early 2025, with prices starting from $117,000 before on-road costs.
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