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Last March, the US Secret Service shared a concept image of an eight-lug, HD-chassis Escalade around the same time GM was reported to have won a $14.8-million contract to build a new presidential limo. Today, President Trump indicated that military-Escalade concept has come to life, and he’s ordering 250 of them.
“The one and only Escalade,” the President said in his hour-long address. “You know we ordered, I think, 250 Escalades, right? We ordered 250 Escalades … We look sharp in those Escalades.” He also made a bunch of other comments ragging on the UAW president.
An Escalade is about $90,000, so that’d make this order worth over $22,500,000. It’s unclear if these are going to be regular Escalades for get-around duty or armored ones like the concept shown off last year. Most likely, they will have at least some upfitting and will be a little more pricey than the Escalades you can lease from your local Cadillac store.
While specs have not been disclosed, these vehicles will probably run on GM HD pickup truck frames with big axles and armor. Even a “basic” armored Escalade can easily cost over $300,000.
But if these Escalades look like the truck USSS teased last year, the “Escalade” part will pretty much just be the bumpers and exterior decorative bits. It’ll probably have the same exact underpinnings as the Suburbans in use now.
USSS also has a big mobile command center bus, various Ford and Chevy SUVs, and at least one Terradyne Gurkha tactical vehicle, which is built on a Ford Super Duty platform.
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Automotive journalist since 2013, Andrew primarily coordinates features, sponsored content, and multi-departmental initiatives at The Drive.
