The next brick has been laid in the wall of a relentlessly upgradable community: Cadillac announced the Speed Package for the 2024 Lyriq AWD. At a cost of $1,200 plus tax, owners can download software that unlocks an additional 74 pound-feet of torque from the Lyriq’s two engines. Instead of 500 hp and 450 lb-ft of torque, the new torque figure is 524 lb-ft, which Cadillac says is enough to shave 0.3 seconds off the Lyriq AWD’s 4.7-second 0-to-60 time. Owners can find an upgrade option at The Lyriq’s infotainment system is through the drive modes pages. Press the appropriate buttons, and voila, speed!
Cadillac did the nice thing and took a $1,200 one-time fee. What’s even nicer is that the luxury brand gives owners a seven-day reflection period – and anyone who is dissatisfied with the result within a week can “return” the program and get their money back. Polestar offers a similar “Performance Program Upgrade” for the Polestar 2 and Polestar 3 that requires a one-time fee of $1,195 for U.S. owners. Unlike Cadillac, the Swedes give car owners just three days to change their minds.
Meanwhile, the Germans are slowly working out the exhausting endgame of the subscription landscape. Mercedes-Benz offers a subscription to the acceleration boost available for the EQE and EQS, however, owners are free to avoid recurring charges by paying a one-time fee small enough not to inconvenience EQE or EQS buyers. And based on what BMW has tried to do with software like Apple CarPlay and fixed mechanical luxuries like heated seats, BMW has no intention of taking an owner’s money just once. Let’s be fair to BMW and say that no other automaker is planning to settle one-time payments either. Fortune Business Insights expects the global vehicle subscription market to grow from $3.38 billion in 2022 to $172.5 billion by 2029. Our world of autonomous payment is on the way.
It’s not clear whether there will be a similar offering for the single-motor Lyriq that produces 340 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque or the few units of the 2023 Lyriq AWD that may have reached owners. Many are already wondering whether anything will be done about the Lyriq badge, the bit of brightwork on the tailgate that indicates the crossover’s torque in Nm. The US Lyriq AWD wears the 600E4 badge; After the Speed Package upgrade, the appropriate badge will be 700E4. As also noted, squeamish owners can track down the appropriate tag from China, as the Lyriq AWD is sold in the Chinese market at 524 lbs. Torque from factory.
