Earlier this month, GM Authority brought you coverage of the new Cadillac Escalade-V testing in prototype form out in the wild. Now, we’ve once again caught the upcoming hot-to-trot SUV testing, this time with an even-better look at the Cadillac Escalade-V ESV.
For those readers who may not know, the ESV stands for “Escalade Stretch Vehicle,” essentially denoting the extended-wheelbase variant of the luxury utility vehicle. Earlier in May, we caught both the standard-length Escalade-V and the extended-length Escalade-V ESV testing. The model featured in these new spy photos is the Escalade-V ESV.
These latest photos give us a clear view of the Cadillac Escalade-V ESV’s revised fascia, which includes new intakes covered by black mesh inserts. It also appears as though there is a sensor in the center of the new intake.
This particular model is also noteworthy for its tire specs, with a set of Bridgestone Alenza rubber mounted in the corners. By comparison, the Escalade-V prototypes caught testing earlier in the month had the tire manufacturer and model scrubbed from the sidewalls. As such, it’s reasonable to assume Cadillac will run some kind of high-performance compound by the time the Escalade-V finally hits production, with these Bridgestone tires used for testing purposes only.
Finally, this prototype is running the same multi-spoke wheels and black finish as the prototypes seen earlier in the month. Also notable are the round exhaust pipes, unlike the squared pipes seen on the earlier prototypes.
Way back in July of 2019, GM Authority was the first to report on the new Cadillac Escalade-V. Then in March of this year, Cadillac Chief Engineer Tony Roma provided a few tantalizing hints as to what the new performance SUV could offer.
To that point, the Cadillac Escalade-V will feature the supercharged 6.2L V8 LT4 gasoline engine under the hood. That’s the same engine used in the Chevy Camaro ZL1 and Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing, throwing down 650 horsepower in the former, and 668 horsepower in the latter. The LT4 will connect to a 10-speed automatic transmission, while Magnetic Ride Control and Air Ride Adaptive Control will keep it all shiny side up. The new SUV will also rock more aggressive styling, as previewed by the camo-covered front end of the prototype featured here. Look for the production model to arrive for the 2022 or 2023 model year.
Subscribe to GM Authority for more Cadillac Escalade-V news, Cadillac Escalade news, Cadillac news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Comments
🍆💦 if it turns out to have the Blackwing engine or EV
🍄 if it happens to be any other engine
the EV will be built on the new Ultium platform and is expected later on. this is most likely and hopefully a true V series with the supercharged LT4.
I think it will have the supercharged 6.2 L but likely not the LT4, as that engine is designed for lighter vehicles. Heavier vehicles with tow ratings will be cammed differently to make more torque at lower RPM, and run for extended periods at higher power levels at lower RPM’s, so they need revised cylinder head, and piston cooling. Escalade V is a family hauler first, and performance vehicle second, and the powertrain engineers will set it up like that. I am going to guess 525-575 HP, which it still a huge upgrade for the Escalade, and the power will come in earlier, and stay longer in the rev range than the natural aspirated 6.2L.
They are certainly not going to install the Blackwing twin turbo engine as that would be a dog in a heavy vehicle like the Escalade.
Blackwing engine is dead at GM. A boutique super car manufacturer bought it from GM. They aren’t bringing it back. Anything they still have is stockpile
I do not think that is correct, I think the bones of the Blackwing engine will show up in future Corvettes. I might be mistaken, but hang tight.
I’ve long said here that the Blackwing, under my theory, was based off the upcoming 5.5 DOHC V8 in the Corvette.
It makes sense when you think about it…change the crankshaft, move the turbos out of the V, alter the displacement, and you could easily turn the 5.5 basic design into a specialized Blackwing. Obviously I’m totally oversimplifying, but the general reasoning makes sense…it would also explain why GM was so willing to let the Blackwing die. It likely was a specialty project based off their bread-and-butter 5.5 Corvette motor.
I think you’re right in that regard, Donavan. I’m willing to bet that we’ll see much of the Blackwing show up when the 5.5 is revealed.
That 5.5 has a flat plane crank. Already believed to be at the ragged edge of too large for a flat plane crank it couldn;
‘t grow larger for the Cadillac and it needs to spin fast. Very fast. Like 8000 rpm fast. This is not a truck engine.
GM sent out notification to suppliers of an upcoming Bowling Green Performance Build Center validation build for a model year 2023 T1XX Engine. The Bowling Green Performance Build Center is where they also build LT4 and dry sump V8’s for Corvette. It is not a stretch to see where this is going, both the top Silverado and Escalade are getting it for sure. I have not seen any evidence of Tahoe or any GMC getting it, but it would be silly not to.
I really do not think the Escalade V will get a hand built engine, why? Because SUV customers are typically not enthusiasts that would care about a hand built engine. Hand building is a gimmick for Camaro, Corvette, and CT5 customers. Truck and SUV customers do not care, just want a reliable engine that is cheap.
Wrong…I have been asking GM to put supercharged engine in the Silverado for years and lots of us want a sport truck and care nothing about going off road!
Without a doubt GM should do a supercharged Escalade and even a Silverado is not a bad idea, and there would certainly be a market, but these truck customers do not need or care about having hand built engines typically, and would happily settle for a line built supercharged engine which would be cheaper (like LSA). I really just do not think GM is going to put a hand built, dry sump, titanium rodded engine in an SUV or truck, as all the benefits of those parts are lost in a lumbering, heavy truck, and they just add cost and complexity for limited to zero gain. In a truck you will likely see a lower redline, camshaft with less valve overlap, bigger blower or increased blower drive ratio, and you will try to make more boost, and higher cylinder pressure at a lower RPM which increases torque and brings the torque peak down, then you have to revise the cylinder head, and piston cooling, because higher torque at a lower RPM makes it harder to scavenge the heat out of the combustion chamber. Anytime you want to make a high HP number, RPM’s are your friend, but in the case of a heavy SUV, you need to move the torque curve down to make the car more drivable, and efficient in light to medium throttle settings (these vehicles will still be charged against GM’s CAFE, so EPA rated fuel economy is important), and with a 10 speed transmission you do not need the high RPM performance, say over 6000 RPM, because the engine rarely sees that rev range.
The notion of hand built is a gimmick. All of the fasteners are still torqued by machines designed to do so. Most asm functions are also done with assist. You should really think of BGPBC as a low volume mfg site, rather than some hand built boutique situation. They are not building crate engines the same way Katech, Lingenfelter, or any other supplier does.
Your anecdotal comment about owners not caring about a hand built engine, flies in the face of reality. While true for most, it is not true for all, and a couple mins on YouTube would’ve showed you that. If only 1% of yearly T1xx purchasers are willing to shell out the money, that would be more than 60k total vehicles per year. I am not saying the true volume is there, just the aspiration.
There is also an additional, and somewhat overlooked motive that might move some people. The new electrical architecture coming to the trucks, also makes tuning a stock vehicle much more challenging than the current T1xx trucks. It is not very difficult to find a T1xx Silverado with turbos, etc. on the internet, but the MCE will make this much, much more difficult and expensive. The SUVs have had the new architecture since launch, which might explain why you have not seen a ton of “SEMA” style Tahoes since launch, unless they were truly just wheels and paint. The same issue is easily seen with the C8, and the rise of supplemental ECU’s, like its 1992 again.
When people who want performance can no longer get it in the aftermarket, GM will fill some of the niche with “whatever” is going to be built in Bowling Green. There is no guarantee it is LT4, but there would be no point in building std L83/L86 in BG when there are several production lines already doing that.
I have been in the BGPBS, and understand completely what they do there. The issues are logistics, if you have 60K annual volume for this supercharged engine (as you elude) all the more reason to build it in the production facility that have the block, crank, head and rod finishing on site, rather than trucking those parts to BG, and then the engines back to Ft Wayne or Arlington. It’s a logistics issue, doing engines at BG has more logistics cost, time, and it is a less efficient factory when it comes to volume. Let’s wait and see, as the volumes are unknown, but if its more then 2000 per month, the BGPBC likely does not have the capacity, especially with the upcoming Z06 engine that will more likely than not be built in Bowling Green. There is also a new top Camaro engine in the works, I have only heard that it is amazing, but no specs have leaked yet.
I will tell you with near certainty the supercharged engine in the Escalade V will not be the LT4, as that is the wrong configuration for the vehicle.
The new engine for the Camaro was cancelled some time ago. It was called LT6 and would’ve displaced 5.5L, and was to also feature a DCT. Would have given the GT500 more than it could handle. I don’t expect to see any significant changes to the V8’s in A1xC for the remainder of the platforms lifespan.
I think you are failing to realize the L86 and LT1 are essentially the same engine. There are no truck rods, blocks or heads in LD trucks at GM. There is no need to ship different parts than what is already there, regardless if it gets some upgraded LT2 type engine, or the full on LT4. A different exhaust and oil pan does not change the engine designator, and they are already building 3 different variations of the LT4; one for Vette, on for ZL1 and a new one for CT5. Back in the LS days, there were different variations like LSA, LS9 and they did develop an LST to replace the 8.1L, but it was dropped after bankruptcy.
I also know for a fact that the trucks were scheduled to use LT4 as of last year, but I am not allowed to share that proof. 😉 However, I did share that GM is having a validation build in BG for the ’23 T1xx, so believe that to mean whatever you like; you will just be pleasantly surprised or especially irritated when it launches.
Ya, I cannot go into detail on what I know either, however the L86, and LT1 are not the same engine or they would have the same part number, I know they have different induction, as I remember the L86 has longer intake runners to “bring the torque peak down” for trucks (sound familiar?) Getting the torque peak down is a common theme when you talk truck or heavy vehicle engines, and gm powertrain engineers are not boneheads, they will not put an engine in a car that is not optimized for that vehicle. If they were going to use the LT4, no reason for validation builds, just grab one off the shelf and throw it in, right? but it’s unlikely to be the LT4 as I said, because they will optimize to the vehicle and give it a different designation. It may share many parts with the LT4, I think there will be a cam change for sure, and likely a blower or blower drive ratio change, and a lower redline. On the engine changes I am completely speculating, but I know some of GM’s top powertrain engineers from racing, and how they think, and have spent thousands of dyno hours myself working on everything from cylinder head, valve train, blower, and camshaft development and so I know what works to optimize the engines. I am not coming at this from rumors, and heresy, but from actual engine development experience. I spent a decade of my life doing nothing but trying to improve BSFC aka thermal efficiency of both aspirated and blown engines. We even did some blown alcohol engines, which are an entirely different can of worms. This is one of the reasons I think EV’s are so cool. All the work we did was trying to flatten the torque curve to give the engines a wider range of power, and then a basic electric motor makes all its torque at 0 rpm, like magic !
The only internal parts that are different, on the LT1 and L 86. Are the oil pump and the oil pump pick up.
They use The same camshaft and cylinder heads
Ok, like I said the induction is different, and that makes it a different engine with vastly different characteristics. I mean one tops out at 420hp and the other 495hp. GM may also set up the camshaft in the truck engine advanced a degree or two compared to the corvette engine? Cam timing can also play a key role in HP/Torque curve. Do the cam and cam drive share the same specs, and part numbers ? I have not had a chance to look up the parts numbers to see..
It would be crazy not to put it in any GMC as those give GM high profits
Will it be 14,000 pounds?
Look at the front calipers & rotors on the ESV. I believe these are the same ones used on the PPV Tahoe made by Brembo.
Cadillac will sell every one they can make at good margins. Smart move.
These will have huge margins, but likely cost $125K +
This would be the perfect candidate for the Blackwing engine.
Twin turbo engines in heavy vehicles do not make sense, blowers work much better in trucks and SUV’s. Better throttle response and torque down low, which is needed to get the heavy mass moving.
Hold up did they “In The Real World” opposed to …….
Love the look, this is probably the real deal and not a disguise. This is about as creative as GM’s design really is. Probably approve by Yogi’s daughter. GM (Giant Mess)
An overpowered brick!
The article says it will be available for the 2023 model year? I thought it was for the 2022 model year. Does anyone have any insight?