For decades, Cadillac lacked any clear performance car or aspirations; the Northstar engines, as good as they may be, were designed to move around two-plus tons of luxury and old people. Today’s luxury car buyers demand more luxury and more performance, all wrapped up in a “green” package. Cadillac has responded with the excellent V-series of Cadillac CTS coupes, sedans, and wagons.

But if you ask us, Cadillac needs to go further. Much further. They need to take the Cadillac Ciel concept, with its twin-turbo V6 and eco-conscious material usage, and make it into a reality. And they need to stay as close to the concept as possible.

Believe it or not, green and mean are the “in” trends with luxury car buyers. They want to have their horsepower without the guilt associated with carbon emissions, and that’s where the Ciel’s plug-in hybrid drivetrain comes in. While it can be driven by electric motors and lithium-ion battery pack alone, the 425 horsepower twin-turbo V6 does a bulk of the performance work.

With a 125-inch wheelbase and plenty of room for four, it is a massive and unapologetic car, but with little luxury features that harken to its eco-friendly ideology. All the wood trim in the Ciel is real, and comes from a single 300-year old olive tree from Greece, it sports suicide doors and built-in sunscreen dispensers, and its name is French for “sly.” Why they even include a top is beyond us; this is a car that demands to be driven with the roof down at all times.

More than any of this though, the Cadillac Ciel makes a big, bold statement for Cadillac. That statement; don’t mess with American luxury. A production version is supposedly in the works for next year; can GM knock it out of the park like they did with the Chevy Camaro?