The 2023 Cadillac Lyriq is an impressive luxury crossover and it’s natural for there to be questions about a possible V-series variant.
While the company has traditionally shied away from V-series crossovers and SUVs, Cadillac recently broke that tradition with the Escalade-V. Essentially the anti-Lyriq, the model boasts a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 engine with 682 hp (509 kW / 691 PS) and 653 lb-ft (884 Nm) of torque. It enables the full-size SUV to rocket from 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) in less than 4.4 seconds and run the quarter mile in 12.74 seconds at 110 mph (177 km/h).
Getting back to the Lyriq, Cadillac officials were understandably tight-lipped about future plans. However, they noted Cadillac is transitioning into a fully electric brand and stated “V will always be a part of Cadillac.”
Driven: The 2023 Cadillac Lyriq Is Music To Our Ears
This seems to suggest the end of the internal combustion engine won’t signal the end of the V-series. Of course, this isn’t much of a surprise as GM has already shown they’re capable of creating insane electric vehicles such as the 1,000 hp (746 kW / 1,014 PS) GMC Hummer EV.
While it remains unclear if there will be a Lyriq-V, officials hinted at an all-wheel drive performance variant during a press briefing in 2021. Furthermore, Cadillac has already announced an all-wheel drive model will arrive early next year with a dual-motor powertrain developing around 500 hp (373 kW / 507 PS). That’s a significant increase over the rear-wheel drive variant, which features a rear-mounted electric motor with 340 hp (254 kW / 345 PS) and 325 lb-ft (440 Nm) of torque.
While only time will tell what the future holds, it appears the era of Cadillac performance is far from over.
