Cadillac turns 125 years old — and it is marking the occasion the only way a performance luxury brand reasonably can. Cadillac has unveiled the 2027 Escalade-V 125th Anniversary Collector Series ahead of the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in Austin, the first of its celebrations for the brand’s 125th anniversary. The serialized special edition is the first Escalade in Cadillac’s Collector Series. Production is limited to 252 units. 

The timing of the reveal is deliberate. Cadillac’s return to Formula 1 as a constructor — with its first cars racing this season — puts the brand in front of a global motorsport audience at exactly the moment it wants to remind the world that Cadillac has been building the most powerful American luxury vehicles for 125 consecutive years. The USGP crowd in Austin, Texas became the first to see the car in the metal.

The Price and the Math Behind It

The 2027 Cadillac Escalade-V 125th Anniversary Collector Series starts at $239,000, but there are a couple of asterisks. Nobody shopping a 252-unit Escalade expected a bargain, but the gap is worth knowing: Cadillac lists the standard 2027 Escalade-V from $169,300.

The 125th Anniversary premium over the base Escalade-V is approximately $70,000 — a figure that pays for exclusivity, serialized production, bespoke visual elements, and the ability to choose your own VIN. Whether that represents value depends entirely on who is asking.

Each car carries serial numbers from 1902 to 2027, one for every year of Cadillac’s history, for 252 cars in all. Buyers can choose their VIN and serial number. The offer of buyer-selected VINs is unusual for a production vehicle. Collectors who attach significance to a specific year — the year a parent was born, when they bought their first car, when a business was founded — can acquire the serial number that corresponds to it. For the right buyer, that is a personalization that has no equivalently meaningful alternative. 

What Makes It Visually Distinct

The dark matte paint job will seemingly be exclusive to this limited-run variant in the Escalade lineup. The two available finishes are Midnight Stone Frost — making its debut on the Escalade with this edition — and Vibrant White Tricoat, which has appeared across the broader Cadillac range. Cadillac is building 126 of each. 

Like “unique” 24-inch forged wheels, and liberal use of carbon fiber for the grille surround, lower rear bumper, mirrors and engine cover. Blue brake calipers happen too. The carbon-fiber treatment is extensive — it covers elements that most high-specification Escalades leave in body color or conventional trim finishes. The shift from the standard Escalade-V’s red brake calipers to blue ones is a detail that enthusiasts will notice from a distance.

Cadillac developed the shade from the blue in the Mondrian-style pattern of the V-Series emblem, as a visual link between the fifth-generation V-Series road cars and the Cadillac V-Series.R race car. It first appeared on the Cadillac Project GTP concept. That connection to motorsport is intentional. Cadillac’s V-Series.R has been racing at Le Mans and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the Santorini Blue that appears on the race car’s livery now translates to stitching, seat belts, and brake calipers on the road vehicle.

Inside: Collector-Grade Details Throughout

The special-edition Escalade-V will include a Black and Sheer Gray two-tone colorway with Santorini Blue stitching and seat belts, unique illuminated door sill plates, premium Collector Series floor mats, and appropriate badging. Buyers will also be able to show off a blue keyfob.

Each 2027 Cadillac Escalade-V 125th Anniversary Collector Series unit will also feature a numbered plaque, and buyers will be able to choose their own VIN and serial number. Only 252 units will be manufactured, 126 in each color, and each one will be labeled 1902-2027, commemorating every year of Cadillac’s existence. 

The illuminated sill plates are a detail that matters at this price point — every time the door opens, the inscription announces what this vehicle is. Premium floor mats may sound like a minor addition, but in a Collector Series vehicle, the quality of these details contributes to the overall impression that every surface was considered deliberately rather than specified by a trim-level checklist.

The Powertrain: Unchanged — and That Is the Point

You do not get any more V8 with this limited-edition Cadillac Escalade-V, so there’s the familiar 6.2-litre supercharged leviathan from the regular Escalade-V lurking underneath that vast bonnet. 

A supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 pushing out 683 horsepower. That output is identical to the standard Escalade-V’s figure, which makes sense: the 125th Anniversary edition is a celebration of what the brand stands for, not a performance escalation. The powertrain does not need to be upgraded because the standard Escalade-V’s 683 horsepower is already among the most in any full-size luxury SUV — 683 hp from a supercharged V8 in a six-passenger, air-suspension-equipped full-size SUV is already a performance statement that requires no amplification for an anniversary. 

The Collector Series Tradition

Cadillac unveiled the 2027 Escalade-V 125th Anniversary Collector Series, with the Escalade being the first time the brand has applied its Collector Series treatment. Production is limited to 252 units worldwide, with pricing starting around $239,000 before tax, title, and dealer fees. 

The Collector Series designation has previously been applied to the CT5-V Blackwing — the high-performance sedan that earned considerable critical acclaim as one of the finest driver’s cars Cadillac has made in decades. Applying the Collector Series framework to the Escalade — the brand’s most commercially and culturally prominent vehicle — gives it broader recognition and signals that Cadillac treats its flagship SUV as deserving of the same curation applied to its performance sedans.

Ordering and Timing

Only 252 of these Collector Series SUVs are up for grabs, starting October 22. Ordering opens today in the United States and Canada. Given the limited production count and the heritage significance of the 125th anniversary moment, buyer interest from existing Cadillac Collector Series clients — who received advance communication before the public announcement — is expected to be strong. 

Cadillac Global VP Kristian Aquilina said: “The Escalade-V 125th Anniversary Collector Series celebrates Cadillac’s heritage and our uncompromising approach to performance luxury.” With just 252 units planned and VIN selection built into the ordering process, this is one of the more personally customizable limited editions the brand has offered in the Collector Series run so far.

For buyers who want to own a piece of Cadillac’s 125-year history and are willing to pay $239,000 to do it, the window opened this morning. It will not stay open long.