The story of the Cadillac CT4 and CT5-V Blackwing models has more twists and turns than a Ezekiel Boone novel. The Blackwing moniker was originally supposed to denote a Cadillac exclusive V8 that made its debut in the axed CT6 flagship sedan. But that engine did not move beyond that particular model and it raised questions on what would be powering the Blackwing models (as well as a whole host of other subjects.) But at long last we are nearing the finish line with Cadillac revealing that the models will be making their debut on February 1st.
Blackwing sure sounds good
Cadillac’s announcement came with a brief 11-second teaser clip of the two in action (come on Cadillac we’ve seen TikTok videos longer than that) but there’s still plenty to unpack here. We get to see a brief clip of a hard up shift on the manual transmission of one of them, and a Wylie Coyote birds-eye view of the two going down a darkened section of tarmac. We also get to hear plenty of exhaust notes from the two spiced up V cars and it appears to confirm some questions we had about them. For starters, it appears that rumors suggesting that both models will carry over the engines from their predecessors are bearing fruit with the video clearly featuring a V8 and a smaller engine being pushed hard. If that’s true then the CT5-V Blackwing is most likely packing the old CTS-V’s 6.2 liter V8. It made 640 horsepower back then and we’re confident that this figure will remain unchanged especially to help fulfill Cadillac’s promise of making it the most powerful Cadillac ever offered.
As for the CT4-V Blackwing it sadly appears to not be packing a V8, but that doesn’t mean that this particular Blackwing is a lame duck. Cadillac still has the old ATS-V’s 3.6 liter twin-turbocharged V6 laying around, and it gave that model 445 horsepower. In the case of the CT4-V this move would also make sense since some of its platform and underpinnings are derived from the ATS. That in turn would allow engineers to seamlessly incorporate it into the car with minimal revisions needed to make it fit right.
Blackwing Will Solidify V-Series Performance Lineup
The appearance of the Blackwing models will also help Cadillac solidify the V performance family. Cadillac caused quite a bit of confusion when it introduced the first batch of its all new V-Series models. The CT5 and CT4-V models were not labeled or treated as the range topping models like their predecessors, and were instead treated as entry level performance models. This angered many automotive enthusiasts who thought that Cadillac was neutering the V-Series moniker with the duo.
These new Blackwings will help solve that problem and they will help create the two tier performance ladder that Cadillac was looking to create from the start. While not much has been seen of the interior, we do know that the Blackwings will benefit from enhanced materials including real carbon fiber trim in select spots as well as a model exclusive steering wheel. Look for all of our questions to be answered in February when the duo will make their virtual debut to the world.
Carl Malek has been an automotive journalist for over 10 years. First starting out as a freelance photographer before making the transition to writing during college, his work has appeared on numerous automotive forums as well as websites such as Autoshopper.com.
Carl is also a big fan of British vehicles with the bulk of his devotion going to the Morgan Motor Company as well as offerings from Lotus, MG, and Caterham. When he is not writing about automobiles, Carl enjoys spending time with his family and friends in the Metro Detroit area, as well as spending time with his adorable pets.