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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