Look out: Hennessey’s done an 850bhp Cadillac Escalade

Bored by your full-size American SUV’s measly 682bhp? Yearning for 25 per cent more horsepower and 31 per cent more torque from your near-three-tonne performance truck?

Good news! Riding to your rescue on the wave of a supercharger whine comes Hennessey, and its brand new upgrade pack for that most American of Big American Cars, the Cadillac Escalade. It offers a healthy 25 per cent horsepower and 31 per cent more torque.

How has such boost occurred? Hennessey quotes improvements to the air intake, the supercharger, the cylinder heads, cams, throttle bodies, and valves. It’s also tickled the ECU. And the result is no laughing matter.

Because now, this 2.8-tonne leviathan punches out 850 horsies and 855 torques, all wrapped up in a limited run of 100 cars and backed – as usual – by a three-year/36k mile warranty.

Unusually, Hennessey hasn’t disclosed the Cadillac Escalade-V’s 0-60mph time, but did say it saw off a 2024 Ram TRX with ease; the Ram does it in 4.5s and sails through a quarter mile in 12.3s. This is inordinately fast for a Big American Car.

“Extreme performance SUVs are one of my favourite types of vehicle to drive,” said John Hennessey. “Their sleeper status is such a great contrast to their supercar-like performance.

“Our 850 horsepower version of the Escalade-V brings heaps of performance to this luxury full-size SUV, doing the GM supercharged V8 engine justice,” he added.