Not that it matters to most but it's not nearly as capable as a RR or LX

If you're going to go big with GM's 2015 Cadillac Escalade SUV, you may as well go the extra length and follow the same route in the performance department too, right? Eh, not exactly, but you get where Texas-based tuner Hennessey Performance is going with this – if you don't, just read the following quote from the email they sent over to us:

"Dear fellow gearhead, ever hear the phrase: 'Everything is bigger in Texas'? To us Texans it's not just a phrase, it's how we roll. We like our friends and our stuff and we like to take it all with us when we go places. We also like speed and performance."

Besides the 20-inch wheels, a flurry of badges and red brake calipers, there's nothing else on the visual menu, but what really counts is the tune under the hood.

The HPE550 package gives the stock 6.2-liter V8 engine a belt-driven supercharger producing 6 psi of boost pressure, together with an ECU remap, air-to-water intercooler system and different gaskets, to lift output from 420hp and 460 lb-ft to 557hp and 542 lb-ft of max torque.

The base performance tune (HPE550) will cost you $15,950 installed and comes with a 3-year or 36,000-mile powertrain warranty, while for the 20-inch wheels, you'll need to relocate another $6,950 from your bank account.

Prices for the new 2015 Escalade range from $71,695 to $92,840, so if you include the HPE550 package and wheels, the cost for driving the tuned truck run from $94,595 all the way up to $114,470.

In the wake of Cadillac's announcement of its upcoming CT6 sedan and the revision of the company's sedans names, the company's marketing chief has confirmed the plan for crossovers – and the Escalade is exempt.

Cadillac's head of marketing Uwe Ellinghaus told Forbes that future crossovers will have an XT name, followed by a number, as the sedans have taken the CT prefix.

But the Escalade full-size luxury icon won't be susceptible to the new nomenclatures, according to Forbes. That's in keeping with what Road & Track found out earlier this year when two Cadillac officials said, "Escalade remains. No reason to mess with it."

OK, but what again was the reason to mess with the rest of the lineup?

In any case, this opens up the possibility Cadillac will finally get a full complement of crossovers to do battle with the Q3/Q5/Q7 at Audi, and X1/X3/X4/X5/X6 and upcoming X7 over at BMW, among others. The two-row SRX is due for replacement soon, although is typically Cadillac's best-seller.

Cadillac Keeps The Escalade Name, But Crossovers Will Take 'XT' Prefix