Cadillac is going back into a market segment it hasn't occupied in decades: the world of true ultra-luxury cars with huge six-figure price tags. General Motors unveiled the Cadillac Celestiq on Friday, and the company wants it to beat the best in the world.

The Celestiq, an electric car, is expected to cost as much as $300,000 when it goes on sale, a figure first reported by the Wall Street Journal and which GM has not officially confirmed or disputed. GM has not yet announced a date when actual production will begin. The vehicle GM unveiled is a "show car" version of the Celestiq, but executives have said the production will be very close in appearance except that it will be highly customizable by individual buyers.

Cadillac has sold cars costing six-figure sums before, but those were usually just over $100,000 and they've usually been Cadillac Escalades loaded up with options. The Celstiq takes General Motors' luxury brand into direct competition with brands like Bentley and Rolls-Royce that routinely sell cars at these sorts of prices.