Cadillac has confirmed it will use the Blackwing moniker on the next level Cadillac CT4-V and Cadillac CT5-V performance sedans.
The automaker said Tuesday that the “future, track-capable vehicles will be called CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing, representing the apex of Cadillac performance and driver engagement.”
“The Blackwing name has come to represent the very best of Cadillac performance engineering, craftsmanship and technology,” explained Cadillac executive chief engineer, Brandon Vivian. “The new CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing build on the brand’s respected legacy of ultimate-performance driving experiences and elevate them even further.”
The automaker says both models will feature a specially tuned chassis, additional vehicle control technologies and high-performance engines, though this was to be expected. More importantly, the automaker confirmed both the CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing will be offered with a manual transmission, a feature that it notes is something “most luxury brands no longer offer but continues to be a strong desire for many performance driving enthusiasts.”
Cadillac has also confirmed the CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing have been undergoing testing at various tracks and road courses around the United States. At Virginia International Raceway, each car set lap times that were “seconds faster than the legendary ATS-V and CTS-V,” models, suggesting the pair will be much faster than the vehicles they indirectly replace.
Cadillac Society was actually the first publication to report the Blackwing moniker would be used to denote the next level Cadillac CT4-V and Cadillac CT5-V models. We later received intel suggesting the automaker’s branding strategy for the vehicles may change, but with this announcement, it is confirmed the vehicles will indeed be carry the Blackwing name. This also likely means they will feature the Blackwing logo on their exterior and interior.
Blackwing was the name given to the automaker’s now-defunct twin-turbocharged 4.2L V8 engine (production code LTA) that was briefly offered in the Cadillac CT6 Platinum and CT6-V. Somewhat confusingly, the Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing and Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing will not use the 4.2L V8 engine. As we reported in the past, the CT4-V Blackwing is expected to use a version of the twin-turbocharged 3.6L V6 engine (production code LF4) that was used on the Cadillac ATS-V, while the CT5-V is expected to feature a version of the supercharged 6.2L V8 (production code LT4) previously found in the third-generation Cadillac CTS-V.
The LF4 was rated at 464 horsepower and 445 pound-feet of torque in the ATS-V, while the LT4 made 640 horsepower and 630 pound-feet of torque in the third-generation CTS-V. The power outputs of these engines in the new Blackwing cars will not necessarily be the same as it was in the ATS-V or CTS-V, however.
The arrival of both the Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The vehicles were set to debut this year and go on sale later on in this calendar year, or in the very beginning of 2021. Now, however, the vehicles will likely not be revealed until 2021 and arrive at dealerships thereafter. For now, Cadillac is only saying that “more V-Series Blackwing information will be made available at a later date,” so it’s not entirely clear when we may finally see the next level performance sedans.
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Cadriver
Name it after a engine they didnt want…. BRILLIANT!
Alex Luft
It wasn’t that they didn’t want the Blackwing engine, but that the platform changes for two key models (XT6 and CT5) made the Blackwing engine unfeasible from a business standpont.
None of that really matters, though. Blackwing was a range-topping engine and the CT4-V BW and CT5-V BW will be range-topping performance vehicles. The brand identity is that Blackwing = range-topping performance. Simple as that.
Greg
?
Cadriver
Would it be correct to say all of this comes from another new direction for Cadillac of merging it together with Chevrolet in the form of platform sharing? With this as the goal, Omega and everything related to it no longer had a place.
Art0085
Every car manufacturer does platform sharing. Just look at Volkswagon, Porsche, Audi. Or better yet, the BMW Z4 and Toyota Supra.
Cadriver
So you know where I am coming from. I have nearly a decades of experience in and around GM. from the mid 80,s through early 90’s. In that time I saw the best and worst of GM. I know what GM can do when its allowed to do it. GM can do incredible things when allowed to. I also know of and have seen the horrible decisions and consequences of them. I am very critical of GM management past and current. It breaks my heart to see the things that just keep happening over and over.
xjug
And some do it much better than GM, they’ve historically gone “cheap”. One could never tell what VW does with the same platform but w/GM its painfully obvious. They’re cheap and mgt it pathetic.
Art0085
That has a lot to do with marketing, not the actual appearance of the vehicle. Most people can’t tell that the Cadillac XT4 shares a platform with the Buick Regal.
Geoff
People are so hung up on names. You can’t be just content that we have Cadillac offering performance sedans with optional manual transmissions?
Joel
The manual is standard and the automatic is optional from what I read. Correct me if I’m wrong?
Alex Luft
Joel – if you read anything like that, then it has not yet been announced.
Greg
Good Ol’ Cadriver.
The V8 was/is a terrific engine, no doubt. But the motor now planned for the CT-Blackwings produces at least 90 more HP. I say “at least” because that’s what the version in the 2019 CTS V produced. More power.
BRILLIANT !
Cadriver
Still years of work, lots of money spent on BW,Omega and a decade working to make Cadillac a world class contender (like it should be. Like it once was) Then throw it all away to merge Cadillac with Chevrolet. Thats what this is about. GM is using the 6.2 because it is cheaper period, not because it may or may not be Faster. We will likely in a few years be here lamenting the end of the Alpha cars once they are canceled and the 6.2 SS will only maybe live in Corvette. BW was about more than just output it was about making Cadillac Cadillac, not jumped up Chevrolet’s at a higher price. A sad and disappointing waste of potential sacrificed on the alter of cost cutting and homogenization.
xjug
You and I are in full agreement. No doubt the 640bhp V8 is a monster and I love it, but the hand made Blackwing V8 brought exclusivity which Cadillac is sorely lacking. The CT6-V IS IMO the finest sedan GM has ever produced with the very sweet, sophisticated and exclusive engine, but also the amazing Omega platform. THESE combined made that vehicle world class and special. The El Miraj should have come from it as the Escala. Get product out NOW not “hey we’ve got amazing EV’s in a few years.” Yet GM in all its amazing wisdom, spend billions on both then dump them on the trash heap, denying Cadillac lovers, finally, that special product.
George Shanks
“What is in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”. Now that this earth shaking decision has been reached, perhaps Cadillac can direct their efforts to BUILD the thing, so that I may buy one.
Brian R
Nomenclature is confusing to some but the confusion will evaporate once the gas pedal hits the floorboard of this monster
Wondering if SuperCruise will be available with a manual transmission, if offered at all
George Shanks
I had a 2016 ATS-V. I loved the sound it made during start. (I also love the smell of napalm in the morning) Looking forward to hearing my 2021 CT-5 Blackwing start.
xjug
Its like calling an Apple pie a Cherry pie… The Blackwing, hand made V8 is not there and without the mill, the name is meaningless. So if CT5 is supposed to mean something, if V is supposed to mean something Blackwing means “no Blackwing V* here”? GM and Cadillac confusion continues. It would have been better to refer back to V-Sport and V or V and VR in a nod to Cadillac Racing.
If names are not to mean anything then this is the first I’ve heard of that… even Malibu is supposed to make one think of something. LeMans, LeMans Sport, even ELR meant something, as stupid as CT4 and XT5 are, they mean something… this is just empty.. simple as that.