The Cadillac Escalade Is Going To War With AMG

The Escalade is a big SUV. The Escalade is a nice SUV. And because of those two truths, the Escalade is also a smash-hit wonder for Cadillac, being one of the few body-on-frame luxury vehicles still on the market despite the general popularity of unibody SUVs. And while it does fairly well in the fight against the Infiniti QX80 and newer Lincoln Navigator, neither of those three body-on-frame machines have gone the route of emulating their German counterparts by launching high-performance variants.

Mercedes builds AMG rockets that are tuned well enough to make vehicles as heavy as the GLS feel like a nimble sports car, while BMW's M Sport SUVs, not even mentioning their full-fledged M versions, are agile enough to be serious fun on a race track. And while each of these big German cars boast dynamically superior unibody chassis, that doesn't mean there isn't a market for a high-performance body-on-frame SUV.

And we could finally get just that if a new report by Muscle Cars and Trucks proves to be correct. The report highlights what sources from GM told the outlet about the future of the Cadillac Escalade. Apparently, those sources have confirmed that there's an Escalade in the making that boasts a high-output V8 that's supposed to be a "powerhouse."

Now, it's worth mentioning that the current-generation Escalade is no slouch. With a 6.2-liter V8 under the hood packing 420 horsepower, it has enough grunt to tow 8,000 pounds and propel its heavy bones from 0-60 mph in 5.7 seconds. But while that sounds like a lot of power, it's less than the Camaro SS' 455 horsepower output.