- The first electric Cadillac V-Series will be a 2026 Lyriq
- The 2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V will arrive in 2025
- Cadillac hasn’t said how much power the Lyriq-V will have or how much it will cost
The Cadillac Lyriq will be the first electric vehicle to wear the luxury brand’s V-Series performance badge.
Cadillac confirmed Tuesday that the Lyriq-V will arrive early next year as a 2026 model, with further details to be revealed at that time. For now, there’s little to be gleaned from the photos released by Cadillac, which only reveal subtle styling changes versus the standard Lyriq.
“V” has been the letter signifying performance at Cadillac since 2004, when the original CTS-V sedan launched. Over the ensuing two decades, Cadillac launched numerous V-Series versions of its existing models, lent credibility by a racing program. The current lineup includes V-Series versions of the CT4 and CT5 sedans—in both standard and full Blackwing configurations—and the Escalade SUV.
2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V
The V-Series treatment will likely include an increase in power over the standard Lyriq’s 500 hp and 450 lb-ft of torque (with the optional dual-motor all-wheel drive powertrain) plus chassis enhancements for sportier handling. Meanwhile, the 2025 Lyriq drops the previous base trim level, while remaining trims get price cuts. Those fairly small changes are in line with what is still a fairly new model.
The Lyriq arrived for the 2023 model year as the first Cadillac EV based on what parent General Motors was then calling the Ultium architecture (GM recently decided to phase out use of the Ultium name). So it’s appropriate that the Lyriq is also the first Cadillac EV to morph into a V-Series performance vehicle.
While GM is reportedly reconsidering plans to make Cadillac all-electric by 2030, the luxury brand will soon have an extensive lineup of EVs. The Lyriq will be flanked by the entry-level Optiq and three-row Vistiq, with the Celestiq sedan and Escalade IQ addressing the higher end of the market. Whether Cadillac will launch V-Series versions of any of those EVs remains to be seen.
