First-Ever Cadillac Escalade-V Heading To Auction

The Cadillac Escalade-V was revealed last month as the world's most powerful full-size SUV, and with a title such as that, you can be sure that there will be a long queue of people keen to get their hands on the brutish behemoth for simple bragging rights. But when special cars are introduced for the first (or last) time, manufacturers tend to offer the very first example to an auction house, typically in order to raise funds for charity. With a big hammer price, the automaker not only gives back but also gets extra coverage from news outlets such as this one. You can see where we're going with this; the first-ever Escalade-V is heading to auction.

Barrett-Jackson is the auction house with this honor, and as you'd expect, the SUV is being offered with no reserve. It will be on Lot 3000 at the auction house's Las Vegas 2022 event, taking place from June 30-July 2. All proceeds from the sale will benefit the Center for Creative Studies for the launch of the Detroit chapter of the Pensole Lewis College of Design. This education center focuses on career education and professional development in the design industry. If you're interested in bidding on the special SUV, it's expected to sell at approximately 4:30 PM on Friday, July 1.

Barrett-Jackson has not indicated what color the Escalade-V is, but that's possibly because Cadillac has not yet announced this. It may even be left up to the winning bidder's discretion as is commonly the case with such auctions. We assume it'll be the gorgeous red seen in the launch photos though. Regardless, what you will certainly be getting is a monstrous engine, specifically a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 generating 682 horsepower and 653 lb-ft of torque. This helps it achieve 0-60 mph in under 4.4 seconds and the quarter-mile in 12.74 seconds.

The Escalade-V will go on sale to the general public late this summer with an MSRP of almost $150,000, but we're pretty sure the first model will manage to break the $300k mark with ease.