Cadillac Numbers 252 Escalade-Vs. LARTE Design Reshapes every V

Cadillac has put a price on a special Escalade-V: about $65,000 above the standard car, for the 252 buyers of the Escalade-V 125th Anniversary Collector Series. LARTE Design offers every other owner, and the 252 as well, a different route: the ESTHETE programme for the Cadillac Escalade-V, which changes the shape of the car itself, from $13,050.

According to Edmunds, the Collector Series sits about $65,000 above a standard Escalade-V. Here is what it brings:

• Two special colours, Midnight Stone Frost and Vibrant White Tricoat, 126 cars each.
• Carbon fibre on the grille surround, lower rear insert, mirror caps and engine cover.
• Forged 24-inch wheels, blue brake calipers, a two-tone interior and illuminated sill plates.
• A serialised plate with an owner-chosen VIN and serial number, cars labelled by year from 1902 to 2027.

The 682 hp supercharged V8, the body sides, the width and the wheel arches stay those of the standard Escalade-V. Cadillac's price buys rarity; LARTE's buys the shape of the car.

In 2022 Robert Hunwick, who styled the first Escalade-V, told Autoblog the brief was a sleeper, and told The Drive the early design visions had been far bolder. Four years later Cadillac's second answer is a serialised limited run: exclusivity by number, carbon in the details.

"Cadillac made 252 Escalade-Vs special. We do it for every other V on the road," says Alexej Janowski, founder of LARTE Design.

Light, Medium and Full are ready-made packages in the LARTE configurator. Start from one, add or remove parts, see the result on the car from every angle and download an itemised PDF quote. Prices in visible carbon:

• Light — front splitter, rear diffuser, door moldings: $13,050 / €10,065.
• Medium — grille trim, splitter, DRL kit, arch extensions, door moldings, diffuser, roof spoiler, brake light: $31,726 / €25,037.
• Full — every ESTHETE part: Medium plus the vented carbon hood, hood deflector, mirror caps, rear bumper trim, trunk trim and LARTE logos: $49,176 / €38,632.

Prices are door-to-door to Europe, the USA and the UAE, excluding VAT. Every part carries a 36-month warranty, German certification and step-by-step installation instructions.

The same design is also available in Gloss Black, painted: Light $7,595, Medium $21,315, Full $33,620. Grille trim and door moldings come in carbon only.

Medium is the step that changes how the car stands, while the factory hood stays in place:

• Carbon grille trim and a front splitter reshape the face.
• A DRL kit and a brake light add an LED signature front and rear.
• Arch extensions and door moldings widen and lengthen the side line, on factory-size wheels.
• A rear diffuser and a roof spoiler finish the tail around the factory quad exhaust.

Full goes all the way: all 15 positions, with the vented carbon hood as the centrepiece.

Every LARTE exterior begins as a full-scale clay model, before a 3D file is opened. The shapes of the Escalade-V were formed by hand, walked around, judged from the height of a child and of an adult, and only then digitised.

"A file will give you precision and a mistake with the same confidence. Clay shows the mistake at once," says Janowski. "As long as I run this studio, the first person on a project is the modeller, and the software comes after him."

• Every part mounts to factory points.
• The 682 hp, the chassis and the electronics stay as Cadillac built them.
• For the dealer, the insurer and the next buyer, the car remains a factory Escalade-V.

"An investment in design is an investment in the pleasure you get every time you walk up to the car," says Janowski.

ESTHETE fits the 2025–2027 Escalade-V and Escalade-V ESV, the 125th Anniversary Collector Series included. It is shown in white and black, in both finishes, and any body colour is available. Send a photo of your V: a personal configuration with renders, timeline and pricing arrives within 24 hours.

ESTHETE is one programme among many. The catalogue covers Cadillac, Porsche, Lamborghini, BMW and Mercedes-AMG, all built to the same fitment standard and material quality.

• Porsche Cayenne S Coupé body kit

• Porsche 911 Carrera body kit

• Lamborghini Urus SE body kit

• BMW XM G09 body kit

• BMW X7 G07 body kit

• Mercedes-AMG G 63 Facelift widebody kit

• Mercedes-AMG GLS 63 Facelift body kit