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Cadillac Drops Its Torque Number Badges for 2027, Starting With the Vistiq

The rounded newton-meter figures on Cadillac tailgates, like the Escalade's 600 and the Vistiq's 900, are going away for 2027. The T and E4 badges stay.

3 min readDashbird NewsroomCadillac

Close-up of the tailgate of a red 2026 Cadillac Vistiq showing the 900E4 badge beside the taillight
Photo: Automotive Addicts

Cadillac is retiring the numbered badges that have sat on the tailgates and trunk lids of its cars since 2019. Starting with the 2027 model year, the figures such as "600" on the Escalade or "900" on the Vistiq disappear. The "T" that marks a turbocharged gas engine and the "E4" that marks an electric all-wheel-drive model stay.

Cadillac confirmed the change to GM Authority in March. "Starting in model year 2027, all Cadillac vehicles will remove Nm badging, beginning with Vistiq," the brand said, adding that the goal is "to help streamline the appearance on the rear of our vehicles." The 2027 Vistiq, which went into production at GM's Spring Hill, Tennessee, plant on May 18, is the first to wear the cleaner badge, a plain E4.

What the numbers meant

The badges were introduced in 2019 and spread across the lineup by 2020. Each number was the engine or motor torque in newton-meters, rounded to a tidy figure. That made sense in markets that use metric units, but in the US, where torque is quoted in pound-feet, few buyers knew what a "350T" or "600" referred to.

The rounding also blurred the picture. The Vistiq's 900 stood for 881 Nm, or about 650 lb-ft. CarScoops pointed out that the Optiq's badge rounds up from its actual 480 Nm, about 354 lb-ft.

According to GM Authority, the changes for 2027 include:

  • Vistiq: 900 becomes E4.
  • Escalade: the gas model loses its 600.
  • Escalade IQ: drops 1000 and keeps E4.
  • Lyriq and Optiq: lose their numbers; all-wheel-drive versions keep E4.
  • XT5: loses its number badges.

GM Authority's list also included the CT5's 350T and 550T, but the current CT5 ends production after the 2026 model year, so those badges will simply disappear with the car.

The badge change is part of a wider tidy-up on the 2027 Vistiq, which also loses the patterned "Mondrian" graphic on its rear side windows.

Buyer brief

What it means for owners

  • Nothing changes on your car. Existing Cadillacs keep their badges, and there is no recall, service bulletin or official retrofit. The change affects new 2027 production only.
  • Want the clean look? A dealer or detailer can remove a badge, but ask how it is mounted first. Removing anything that uses locating pins can leave holes, and badges that are glued on need care to avoid marking the paint.
  • Used-car shoppers lose a clue. On older Cadillacs, the number was a quick way to tell engines apart from behind; a 350T on an XT5 or CT5 marked the 2.0-liter turbo four rather than a bigger engine. On 2027 and later models, check the window sticker, the build sheet or a VIN decoder instead. On GM vehicles the eighth character of the VIN identifies the engine.
  • Leftover 2026 models keep the old badges. A 2026 car still in dealer stock wears the number; a 2027 of the same model does not. The difference is cosmetic, so it is no reason to pay more for either.
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