2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V: This Is It

Cadillac's award-winning crossover is about to put the "V" in "EV," and we're all better for it. The performance variant debuts next year.

Photo by: InsideEVs

By: Patrick George

Oct 29, 2024 at 8:00am ET

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A V-Series performance variant of the Cadillac Lyriq will debut "early next year," General Motors confirmed today.
The V-Series family has delivered some incredible gas-powered performance cars, like the CTS-V and CT5-V Blackwing, and now it enters the electric era.
All other specs, including power, range and pricing, will be revealed at a later date.

I think even the most die-hard electric vehicle fan has to admit that General Motors has put out some truly first-rate gas-powered performance cars over the past decade-and-a-half. The C7 and C8 Corvettes, the last (for now, anyway) Chevy Camaro and the various Cadillac V-Series sedans have taken on the world and often come out on top. But GM has also had a surprisingly strong EV game as of late. I've been wondering when those two trends might converge, and today, we have an answer.

Meet the 2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V. Its somewhat awkward name tells you exactly what it is: the award-winning Cadillac Lyriq electric crossover, just with the V-Series treatment for high performance.

2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V

Photo by: InsideEVs

"The 2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V, the first electric SUV to earn the V-Series badge, will join the brand portfolio early next year," Cadillac officials said in a news release. "Lyriq-V is a stunning technical achievement, pushing the performance pedigree of the preeminent sub-brand to new heights."

So what else do we know about it? Well, for now, nothing. That's it. Just that and a short teaser video of a Lyriq-V whooshing almost silently across a race track. We can see several exterior tweaks, including a different grille and color-matched wheel arches, and V badges inside and out. And the teaser video clearly shows the driver activating some kind of performance settings with the V button on the steering wheel. Beyond that, we'll have to wait and see what Cadillac is cooking up.

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We have some things we can deduce, of course. The normal dual-motor all-wheel-drive Lyriq is no slouch with 500 horsepower and a zero to 60 mph time under five seconds (plus a healthy 307 miles of electric range.) The Lyriq-V could also end up as a Chevrolet Blazer EV SS in a business suit; that crossover will pack 595 horsepower and be capable of zero to 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds with its full-blast "Wide Open Watts" mode engaged. But given the lengths Cadillac's V-Series team has gone in the past to make those cars feel special, I don't think the Lyriq-V will be just some reskin of the Chevy.

I'm quite excited to see what GM comes up with here, and even more glad the V-Series will have a future in the electric era. But GM set the bar pretty high with the CTS-V and the like; if the Lyriq-V can live up to that legacy, it's going to be a very interesting machine indeed.

Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com