Being the wife of the successful man behind one of the most extreme tuning houses in North America certainly has its quirks. Cue Mrs. Hope Hennessey, who upgraded her family school bus to an all-new 2015 Cadillac Escalade supercharged to 557 horsepower.
Based on a $75,695 Luxury model, the full-size SUV Hope got from her husband churns 137 horsepower and 86 lb-ft of torque over the standard model thanks to a belt-driven supercharger system running 6 psi of boost. For $15,900, the HPE500 Escalade also benefits from a high flow air-to-water intercooler, performance gaskets and fluids, as well as a remapped engine control unit.
However, the best asset is represented by the torque figure. A maximum 542 lb-ft (732 Nm) of torque are available at 4,200 rpm. Couple that with the traction of a four-wheel drive system and you get a very fast luxury yacht riding on 22-inch rims. Anyway you put it, this is not your average children hauler, but one of the most awesome all-rounders out there.
So what can you expect from the video below? For a start, you'll see John Hennessey seated on the front passenger seat, while his wife takes the wheel of the tuned Caddy. After a few little instructions on how to prepare for a 1/4 mile run on the Lonestar Motorsports Park dragstrip, Hope floors the HPE550 Escalade and sets off on her run.
Even though her palms were sweating and shaking from the adrenaline rush, she managed to keep her cool behind the wheel, ultimately achieving a very respectable quarter mile. Press play to see one of the coolest moms in action and how the HPE550 Escalade stacks up against a standard model in terms of straight line performance.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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