You mostly see Cadillac Escalade SUVs mainly in rap videos. These have become status symbols of the wealthy. So when the first retail production Escalade-V was put up for auction, it commanded a $500,000 USD (27.9 million PHP) price. With an additional $25,000 USD donated by another patron, the total for the SUV went up to a staggering $525,000 USD or 29.3 million PHP. 

The luxury SUV with a starting SRP of $149,000 USD (8.37 million PHP) was auctioned to help raise funds to reopen the Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design (AKA PLC). Cadillac wants to jumpstart and bring awareness to the next generation of creatives in Cadillac’s hometown of Detroit. 

Global Cadillac VP Rory Harvey says the luxury car brand champions big dreams and bold ambitions. He was also thrilled with the auction result and was also grateful to Barrett-Jackson for providing a platform for the event.

The winning bidder will get the first-ever 2023 Escalade-V to wear the V-Series badge. It will have a hand-built supercharged 6.2 liter V8 with 682 PS and 885 Nm of torque mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission specially calibrated to the SUV. It will also feature standard performance elements like the full-time active all-wheel-drive system, an exclusive suspension set-up, and performance software calibrations. With all this technology, the Escalade-V can catapult itself from 0 - 100 km/h in under 4.4 seconds. 

With VIN 001, the winner of the SUV will also get a one-of-one custom pair of sneakers designed by Dr. D’Wayne Edwards who is the college’s founder and who is also a prominent footwear designer. Lead exterior designer for the Escalade-V Robert Hunwick will also be giving the winner an exclusively signed and framed 12 x 18-inch design-studio theme sketch of the luxury SUV.