The sides have pillarless doors.
GM Design’s Insta page gives a fascinating glimpse into the company’s future visions for the automobile giant. Although the chances of any of these designs making it onto the roads are slim, you can see what the stylists are thinking. Rebecka Buller, an exterior designer, has created these new sketches that show a Cadillac SUV with a different appearance.
The front end has a look that is evocative and reminiscent of the Lyriq Electric crossover Celestiq sedan. The headlights are placed around the nose and flow to the sides of the fenders. The center is dominated by a trapezoidal boxy element, while the hood is chiseled.
Buller appears to want an SUV that can be built without the need for a pillar between its front and rear doors. The B-pillar is placed further back than normal to preserve structural rigidity. It starts at the rear fender, and runs diagonally to the roof. This arrangement would allow for lots of natural light to enter the cabin, and make it airy with the windows closed.
The back has a pair of edgy, slanted taillights. They rise up to the roof and then have smaller points that go down and to the sides. Buller illustrates a few of these sketches using barn-door rear openings. This is a familiar styling touch from earlier Escalade models and it arguably offers more utility by allowing an owner to access half the area, if that’s all they need.
It would be a major engineering challenge to ensure that the absence of a pillar between doors can still be safely in a collision, especially from the side. This obstacle is now over, and there seems to be no major design problem that could prevent an SUV like this being made.