Mr. Lee is a car guy. Mr. Lee wants weekend toys, but also daily drivers. Mr. Lee brought in his 2023 Cadillac Escalade because he wanted to squeeze more power from its V8 engine.
Mr. James Lee from Austin, Texas, brought his SUV to the tuning shop for that. He usually comes in with his wife, and they make choices together because you know what they say: happy wife, happy life.
The Escalade has been on the market for almost 30 years, but Cadillac launched the so-coveted Escalade-V in 2022 as the largest performance SUV on the US market, a label that it still holds today in the world of the petrolheads who have not (yet) switched to EVs.
He also wanted to take the Escalade to car shows and make sure everyone around knew that his SUV was anything but stock. In fact, he is taking it to a car show as soon as he leaves the shop, and he's got 150 horsepower more to brag about.
And he wanted a sound to match the extra oomph. So, he got the shop's Stage 2 package, which brought in cold air induction system, new camshafts, and new long-tube stainless steel headers.
Photo: Late Model Racecraft | YouTube
The team also changed the upper supercharger pulley to make it spin harder for the necessary boost. He definitely got what he wanted now. The exhaust goes popcorn-ing when the throttle pedal is pressed and enhances the drama this vehicle comes with.
However, Steven Fereday from Late Model Racecraft knows that James and his wife will come back for more. He will soon get 200 more horsepower over the stock version with the help of an additional fuel system. Right now, up on the dyno, the V goes as far as 668.51 horsepower and 642.35 pound-feet of torque.
His SUV rides on custom 24-inch wheels with gloss black finish. Cadillac introduced the factory 24-inchers with the 2025 facelifted Escalade-V.
Steven takes it for a spin to make sure the vehicle is reliable. The customer will soon come to pick it up and he can't give him a proper sendoff before checking the car himself. He is amazed by how easily the behemoth accelerates despite the weight it carries, while still being safe and reliable. The 6.2-liter supercharged V8 sounds like a Corvette but looks like a family car.
Cadillac unveiled the facelifted Escalade last week, alongside its V version, without interfering with the outputs. However, General Motors ditched the 3.0-liter turbodiesel inline-six. Therefore, the Escalade is only left with the 376-cubic-inch (6.2-liter) V6 versions starting in 2025.
The entry-level version comes with 420 horsepower (425 metric horsepower) and 460 pound-feet (624 Newton meters of torque), while the range-topping Escalade-V boasts 682 horsepower (691 metric horsepower) and 653 pound-feet (885 Newton meters) of torque for the supercharged Escalade-V.
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