Cadillac’s “next-level” V-Series cars will be called Blackwing, Cadillac Society has exclusively learned.
According to sources familiar with Cadillac’s product plans, the luxury automaker has chosen the Blackwing name for its “next-level” V-Series cars – the ones that will slot above the Cadillac CT4-V and CT5-V announced on May 30th. Meanwhile, the “next-level” CT4-V and CT5-V, shown in prototype form on June 1st at the Belle Isle Grand Prix, will be called “CT4-V Blackwing” and “CT5-V Blackwing,” respectively.
Blackwing – a name inspired by the merlette, the black bird that adorns the original Cadillac emblem – is the name of Cadillac’s new twin-turbo Dual OverHead Cam (DOHC) V8 engine. The motor, assigned production code LTA, is currently offered in two range-topping Cadillac CT6 trim levels – Platinum and CT6-V (initially announced as the CT6 V-Sport).
But despite Blackwing being the name of the boosted eight-banger, Cadillac will use the Blackwing moniker for the most potent expressions of its V-Series cars, thereby creating a new sub-brand above and beyond the new line of V-Series models – the CT4-V, CT5-V and CT6-V.
The bifurcation of Cadillac V-Series offerings into “regular” V (like the CT5-V) and “next-level” V (like the CT5-V Blackwing) is part of a strategy to make the V-Series brand more accessible to more consumers. To paraphrase General Motors President Mark Reuss, Cadillac V-Series cars in past were “hammers” that intimidated a significant amount of the car-buying public.
With this newfound two-tier V-Series strategy, the luxury carmaker hopes to attain significantly higher levels of commercial success in the sport-luxury space with the new and more accessible CT4-V, CT5-V and CT6-V, which should attract new customers to the brand. Meanwhile, those who have traditionally purchased the more capable V-Series models will be able to continue to do so with the “next-level” Blackwing offerings. Cadillac’s primary rivals – BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi – have employed a similar strategy with great levels of success.
Besides information provided by Cadillac Society sources, two major occurrences previously indicated that Cadillac will use the Blackwing name for its “next-level” V-Series cars.
The first one came in September 2018, when Cadillac parent, General Motors Company, filed to trademark “Blackwing” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The second came during the reveal event for the Cadillac CT4-V and Cadillac CT5-V, when Reuss told journalists on the sidelines of the event that more powerful versions of the CT4-V and CT5-V will become available at a later date.
He followed that up with, “How do you like the Blackwing name?”
At the time, most everyone concluded that he was referring to the Blackwing V8 engine. But, knowing what we know now, we believe that Reuss’ statement was a veiled clue about the name of the next-level V-Series models, rather than the Blackwing V8.
Question is, will the Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing cradle the Blackwing V8? We’ll find out soon enough. In the meantime, be sure to subscribe to Cadillac Society for more Cadillac CT4 news, Cadillac CT5 news and ongoing Cadillac news coverage.
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