Escalade Sport Platinum, armoured

The Escalade is Cadillac's large body-on-frame SUV, built on the T1XX platform. The 2025 model year refreshes the fifth generation and introduces the 55-inch curved screen spanning from pillar to pillar. Sport Platinum is the top of the Sport line, replacing chrome with dark elements: 22-inch 18-spoke After Midnight finish wheels, 16-way massage seats, and AKG Studio Reference 36-speaker audio.

The engine is the naturally aspirated 6.2-litre L87 V8, 420 hp SAE (426 PS DIN) and 623 Nm, 10-speed automatic and all-wheel drive. The Platinum trims add the Touring pack and its adaptive Air Ride pneumatic suspension to the Magnetic Ride Control: a more suitable base for an armourer than a rigid axle on springs, as the ride height can be adjusted.

Cadillac does not factory-armour the Escalade; the conversion is done off the production line: the body is opened and then rebuilt around a 360-degree closed ballistic steel cell, including roof and floor, with reinforced doors, multi-layer laminated glazing, armoured fuel tank and ECU covers, run-flat inserts, and upgraded brakes, dampers, and hinges to handle the extra weight. The levels offered range from BR4 to BR6 of the CEN 1063 standard, with BR6 stopping 7.62 x 51 NATO with a lead core, and BR7 stopping the same calibre with an armour-piercing core.

The weight and performance figures shown are for the standard Escalade: they do not take the armouring into account, which adds several hundred kilograms and reduces acceleration, top speed, and fuel economy. Cadillac does not publish any top speed for the Escalade with the 6.2L naturally aspirated V8, so this field is not specified.

For an armoured vehicle, the key document is the ballistic test report from the converter, which is nominative and linked to the chassis number: this specifies the protection level and follows the car on resale, as the term 'armoured' covers everything from BR4 to BR7. Ballistic glazing and run-flat inserts have their own lifespan, independent of mileage.

Administrative and fiscal: without European type approval, French registration requires a single-vehicle approval with the DREAL (regional environment, planning and housing directorate), and the malus is calculated on the basis of fiscal horsepower (CIBS art. L. 421-64), at its ceiling from 15 fiscal horsepower. The regional tax for the carte grise (French registration certificate) follows the same unit, €60 per fiscal horsepower in Centre-Val de Loire in 2026: for a V8 of this displacement, the registration alone amounts to thousands of euros. Above 3.5 tonnes GVWR, a C1 licence is required.