When Neiman Marcus put a one-off 2022 GMC Hummer EV Edition 1 specced by Craig Barrett of Barrett-Jackson on its Fantasy Gifts list for the 2021 holiday season, the super-luxe retailer charged $285,000 for an SUV that retailed for $112,595 (not that anyone got any Hummer EV for retail, we know). Previously, the store had done similar with a 2019 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera with appointments chosen by ex-Bond actor Daniel Craig, the coupe coming with an Omega Seamaster and tickets to the “No Time to Die” premiere. That gift cost a cheeky $700,007, more than twice the $304,995 MSRP of the car and the most expensive Fantasy Gift that year. Well hold onto your lug nuts, fellas, Cadillac just reset the bar. The most expensive Neiman Marcus bauble this year is a one-of-one 2024 Commissioned by Cadillac Carmen Celestiq that wants $975,000 from a discerning buyer, before taxes and fees.
This isn’t the most expensive gift ever, eclipsed as recently as last year by a $3.2 million Cartier diamond tiara. But last year’s car was a Barbie Maserati Grecale Trofeo SUV asking $330,000 for each of three examples to be sold. The Celestiq is pulling in a tidy markup above its $340,000 retail price, although $25,000 of the gift price goes to the Detroit Opera House.
Neiman didn’t share details on how the sedan would be configured, nor who at Cadillac is in charge of the commissioning. That might be a need-to-know matter, and it could have something to do with the opera connection and “Carmen” in the sedan’s official name.
Naturally, though, there’s more to unwrap than just the car. The buyer and a guest will receive a two-day trip to Detroit to be seduced throughout the creative and hand-built processes that go into every Celestiq. There’s a VIP tour of Cadillac House design studio and the current Harry Bertoia art installation there, a meet-and-greet with Cadillac designers where the buyer and guest “may be able to see a future vehicle that has not been revealed,” and a private viewing at the Cadillac Artisan Center to watch the car being built. When not living the Celestiq life, there’s a private tour of a “notable Detroit landmark” led by a docent or historian, one dinner prepared “by a renowned Detroit chef,” every other meal “tailored” to the buyer’s preferences at award-winning restaurants, and overnights “in a luxury suite at a boutique hotel” either downtown or in the metro area, whichever the buyer prefers.
The price includes shipping of the final product anywhere in the lower 48 states, although it would be a shame not to make a road trip of this boondoggle. Don’t reach for your wallet, though, we suspect the Celestiq Express has left the station. Interested parties were invited to call a toll-free line “beginning promptly at 9 a.m.” on October 25 for the “limited production of one vehicle available.” There might be time to fill a stocking with a different Fantasy Gift, like a yachting treasure hunt through Indonesia or trip to the Olympics in Paris with Ralph Lauren and Team USA.
