With SUVs becoming more popular than ever, Cadillac’s popular Escalade model faces a lot of stiff competition. To fight this competition, Cadillac has reportedly considered giving the Escalade more engine options for years, and this rumored upgrade would be the start of that. Let’s see how this rumored super Escalade stacks up to its competitors.

A potential Blackwing

This rumor comes from an article from Muscle Cars & Trucks and its sources claimed that Cadillac’s new Escalade has a 6.2-liter 650-hp supercharged V8. That’s the same monster of an engine that’s found in the latest Camaro ZL1 or Corvette Z06. Although its sources wouldn’t elaborate on any other details on the performance or specs of this new Escalade, they did mention that this 650-hp engine would be the main selling point of the car.

The current 2019 Escalade model sports a 6.2-liter 420-hp engine so if this rumored upgrade is true, then Cadillac has essentially bumped up the power of the Escalade by 230 hp or an increase of more than 50%. Muscle Cars & Trucks speculates that this massive jump in power could warrant putting the V-Series label or perhaps the upcoming Blackwing label on the new Escalade.

The race for power

This rumored super Escalade won’t be the most powerful SUV on the market, as SUVs like the 707-hp Jeep Grand Cherokee exists. However, a 650-hp engine is still far more powerful than what most SUVs have to offer today. Most contemporary luxury SUVs sport an engine with less than 600 hp, so this super Escalade will be at the upper end of the spectrum when it comes to power.

Few street-legal cars, in general, have an engine comparable to what this new Escalade would offer. To give you an idea of just how much power 650 hp is compared to what most other SUVs offer, more practical SUVs start with engines that get less than 200 hp. That 650-hp engine would be like using three of those engines instead. 

Sport or luxury?

We don’t know about any potential changes to the body or interior of this rumored super Escalade other than its upgraded 650-hp engine. As a result, we can only speculate about what its performance figures will be like. If Cadillac is going all-in on the sport aspect of this SUV, then it may try to lower the overall weight of the super Escalade so that it’ll have a higher power-to-weight ratio. There are many ways that Cadillac can reduce its weight, but significant weight reductions could mean less practical features. 

But if Cadillac is staying true to the luxury aspect of the Escalade, then this super Escalade will likely be quite similar in terms of features and practicality when compared to the current model. For reference, U.S. News says that the current Escalade, with its 420-hp engine, can go 0-60 miles per hour in 6.6 seconds. The extra 230 hp should allow the super Escalade to maintain its practical and luxury features with no loss to its performance. In fact, with all that extra horsepower, Cadillac can expand the features that this new Escalade offers while still improving its performance compared to the current model.

That said, there’s really no way to get an engine as powerful as that on a vehicle without losing some practicality, namely in terms of fuel economy and price. Starting at over $75,000, the 2019 Escalade is not a cheap SUV to own. It also gets 14 city mpg and 23 highway mpg according to U.S. News and that’s not great compared to the more practical SUVs. However, drivers of the current Escalade probably can afford and likely will desire the superior power, luxury, and prestige offered by this new Escalade.