Speed: Supercharged Escalade-V Returns to 24s, with 55-inch touchscreen

Cadillac’s luxury truck is cracked: Last year, the automaker sold more Escalades than it had since 2007. The car in these spy photos, a refreshed version of the 682-hp Escalade-V with new interior bits, proves that Cadillac isn’t. I’m not done squeezing the goodness out of this recipe.

We met the Escalade-V in 2022. Priced at $149,990, it was the most expensive and most powerful Escalade at its launch. Unfortunately, Cadillac doesn’t share average purchase prices nor does it break down sales of the supercharged SUV from those of other Escalades, so we don’t know how the hi-po version has been received in the market. A spokesperson for the automaker told us that Cadillac sells every Escalade-V it builds, and that the V-Series generally attracts a younger customer base for the brand.

We see the appeal. Under the hood of every Escalade-V is a hand-built version of GM’s LT4 V-8, a mix of parts from the mill in the CT5-V Blackwing sedan and the one in the C7 Corvette ZR1, good for 682 hp and 653 lb-ft of torque. To read a brief description of how Cadillac engineers put this package together, head over to Brandan Gillogly’s 2023 Escalade-V car review. Spoiler: He loved it.

The supercharged V-8 ‘Slade won’t be top dog in the class for long. Change is underway, and its name is IQ, the two letters Cadillac uses to denote its pure electronic designs. Often, those letters are combined in model names: Celestiq, Lyriq, Optiq. In the case of the Escalade, Cadillac knew better than to mess with the cachet of the name … however, the Escaladiq looks silly.

The battery-electric IQ model beats the current Escalade-V on paper: In V-Max mode, it makes 750 hp and 785 lb-ft of torque. However, that output is only available for a short time; the figures you can expect all day, every day, are 680 hp and 615 lb-ft of torque, just slightly more than the supercharged Escalade.

Numbers aside, there’s no replacement for the V-8’s chest rumble, so Cadillac—wisely—sells the ICE alongside an EV model, at least for now. (The EV model is scheduled to go into production this summer. Given the lack of camo, this new Escalade-V is almost ready to meet the world.)

These spy photos show that the refreshed Escalade-V will steal the best bits from the EV model: New headlights and taillights, 24-inch wheel designs, and a 55-inch touchscreen, flanked by speakers. We’ve seen this screen twice—first in the Celestiq, then in the Escalade IQ—but haven’t interacted with it, as both cars’ displays were look-but-don’t-touch. However, if modern IQ’s reduced and clean state is anything to go by, you can expect the menus and digital buttons to be beautifully designed. That’s especially important for a GM product, since the automaker doesn’t allow CarPlay.

We’re big believers in freedom of choice, so the presence of a supercharged Escalade with an inevitable battery-electric design has us in awe. 25 years after the Escalade debuted, Cadillac is positioning its full-size SUV as the best of both old and new school.

***

Check out the Hagerty Media homepage so you don’t miss a single story, or better yet, bookmark. To get our best stories in your inbox, subscribe to our newsletters.