It's been nearly five years since Cadillac launched a completely redesigned Escalade. Up until fairly recently, GM's luxury division wasn't in much of a hurry to redesign its bling-tastic SUV flagship due to lack of serious competition. The new Lincoln Navigator has altered Cadillac's thinking. Previously, we reported the fifth-gen Escalade would debut in 2020, meaning its first public appearance could be as soon as the 2019 LA Auto Show this November. However, that launch year has apparently been pushed back.

According to GM Authority, the next Escalade isn't scheduled to arrive until 2021. What's more, the Escalade's corporate cousins, the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, and GMC Yukon, also won't appear until 2021.

All of these full-size SUVs will share GM's new T1XX body-on-frame platform, the very same architecture underpinning the new Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra. That's not at all surprising considering every previous and current Escalade/Tahoe/Yukon rides on GM's full-size truck setup. And also like the Silverado and Sierra, the new SUVs will stick with the 5.3-liter V8 and 6.2-liter V8 engines. A 10-speed automatic transmission is highly likely.

Question is, will the 2021 Escalade be offered with an exclusive engine to make it stand out (and justify its increased price tag) from its corporate cousins? We've reached out to Cadillac asking about that and we'll update this space if we hear back.

Although it's still unconfirmed, we highly suspect to see the new 4.2-liter twin-turbo Blacking V8, the very same engine found in the CT6-V where it produces 550 hp and 627 lb-ft of torque. It wouldn't make any sense, financially speaking, for Cadillac not to use this engine elsewhere. We also know the brand is not at all keen to share it with other GM brands.

Given the Escalade's V8 history and the need to distinguish it from the Tahoe and Yukon, we can't see any reason why Cadillac wouldn't use the Blackwing here. In any case, the next Escalade, Tahoe, and Yukon likely won't arrive for another couple years' time, so let's hope they'll be worth the wait.