A Private Jet in Your Car? For Enough Money, You Can Have This
Fans of top-class vehicles love the Cadillac Escalade — you see this thing rolling down the street, and you think style. From the standard all-black SUV to the limo-style Escalades full of kids going to the prom, these vehicles are a joy to behold. But why not go one step further and build an Escalade with a premiere cabin that looks like something you’d see in a private jet? Lexani Motorcars, a company known for outfitting individual customers in comfort, has unveiled the Escalade Sky Captain design, featuring a full makeover of the cabin behind the driver’s front seat, for a result that any of us would be proud to sit in while accelerating down a runway.
The Escalade Sky Captain isn’t the first exploration into making a luxury vehicle like a jet cabin — there’s the BMW 7 Series and the Land Rover that take cues from airplanes. But the Escalade Sky Captain is a one-of-a-kind setup: Fully enclosed, the four European leather quilted power seats face a multi-screen entertainment center, surrounded by a plush system of interior panels.
Matching the creamy beige interior, the walnut seat tables and control panels in the Sky Captain are accented with real 24-carat gold. On one side of the cabin, there’s an inset security camera display, and on the other, there is a Control4 touch screen system to manage Bluetooth functionality and Apple-based entertainment/communications systems.
One of the crown jewels of this vehicle cabin customization is a 48-inch curved Samsung television, one of the first of its kind to offer this kind of 3D display. This comes accessorized with surround sound for what Lexani calls a “quintessential home theatre experience.”
In addition, a 41-inch panoramic sunroof looms overhead, complementing a sophisticated climate control system for micro-managing temperature and air flow.
The vehicle supporting this interior experience is the 2015 Escalade ESV. A 6.2-liter V8 with 420 horsepower gives the SUV the necessary juice for a smooth ride. There’s a shiftable six-speed automatic transmission, front and rear parking sensors, four-wheeel ABS, and more for the driver’s seat. Although the custom package adds all kinds of style and comfort, many of the features you’d expect in a luxury SUV are here straight from the factory.
According to Lexani Motorcars Client Advisor John Wallace, the Sky Captain package was directly modeled off of a client’s private jet. This one-off custom project is available for replication, but the entire process, from start to finish, was based on examining the design of a luxury aircraft. Even the seat quilting and dark walnut accessory paneling came from the jet design.
“There’s a lot of client input,” Wallace said of Lexani’s custom packages. “We just took the [client’s] ideas and thoughts, and matched pictures … it’s exciting to build.”
Although you won’t see a bunch of these luxury vehicles packages on the street, we might see more of an interest in making our vehicle cabins look like something you’d find on a runway — especially when autonomous cars start flowing into lot inventories. It’s not too much of a long shot to imagine that someday, when you get into a luxury vehicle, you just might see some of these convenience features inside.
