In case you missed it, on Wednesday, General Motors’ premium Cadillac brand announced that the high-performance CTS-V and ATS-V models will be discontinued before spring of next year, while the V-Series line itself will expand to include models “across [the] portfolio.” The announcement carried a couple of other important bits of information that were previously unknown to us: that the Cadillac CT6 V-Sport will be sold as the “CT6-V”, making it a true, full-blown V-Series model, and that its new twin-turbo DOHC V8 engine will be named “Blackwing”.
As you’ll recall, Cadillac isn’t entirely new to the idea of DOHC (dual overhead-camshaft) V8 engines, having sold a number of models in the 1990s and 2000s that featured V8 engines from GM’s Northstar engine series. The first DOHC V8 in the family actually came out of Oldsmobile’s R&D team, but the “Northstar” name is typically associated not with that marque, but with Cadillac.
You can forget all about the Northstar engine family, though; the new Blackwing twin-turbo Cadillac V8 that will power the 2019 Cadillac CT6-V is a clean-sheet design, each of which will be hand-built by one of six skilled engine builders. It will prioritize keeping a nice, dense torque curve over delivering tremendous peak power, which we find interesting given that DOHC engines tend to allow for higher operating speeds and better high-rpm breathing, often leading to a natural bias toward power, not torque.
Not that the Blackwing twin-turbo Cadillac V8 will be at all lacking in either department: the engine puts out an estimated 550 peak horsepower, with a torque peak of 627 lb-ft.
Internally, the new Cadillac twin-turbo 4.2L V8 will be known as “LTA“, but we can just picture the “Blackwing” name embossed on the engine cover. It sounds a fair bit cooler than “Northstar”, don’t you think? Let us know in the comments section below.
Comments
I like it. Simple but yet it conveys power.
One of those names for an engine kinda like “Hellcat” – as in, why the heck didn’t anybody think of this before? I love it. Can’t wait to see a high-revving, high HP CT5-V with the Blackwing V8.
And when it breaks down it will be called “Brokenwing.”
Hopefully that’s not often but with GM it seems like every new engine design takes at least one generation to fix what are serious reliability issues.
I can hear it now: Blackwing Down.
The Cadillac NorthStar engine is the perfect Cadillac story. If Cadillac and more importantly GM could only learn from there mistakes. The first NorthStar engines were great simply great. I had a 1996 DeVille great car, great. 200,000+ miles great. So great I got my mom a 1999 DeVille. JUNK, did you get that JUNK. Now I don’t know the facts but I would guess someone said ” I can make that cheaper”. You know the GM – Cadillac story lets make it cheaper. BUT here is the thing Cadillac and GM need to learn. WHY cant you make the SAME great thing whatever it is and just keep making it great. FIX IT and move on. FIX it and move on. I could care less what you call whatever. A name, a letter, I don’t care. This is what I do care about. When you have a great product FIX IT and move on. Improve it and move on. But instead GM drops it, tries to cut there losses and in a few years tries to convince you “O” this is not that old JUNK we used to make. New name, number whatever. GM has been trying to do this for years. Impala, Malibu, Corsica, Beretta, CTS, ATS, NorthStar, Blackwing, Whatever. Just like Toyota Camry and the runaway issues. Cadillac knew ALL of a certain NorthStar would pull head bolts. But unlike Toyota who fixed ALL Camrys and moved on, Cadillac SCREWED OVER only certain owners and tried to cover it up and drop the name and the total product all together. Now this Blackwing V8, dual overhead cam, is a totally new V8, dual overhead cam, not the old NorthStar V8, dual overhead cam. Maybe instead of always trying to convince loyal customers you have something ALL NEW Cadillac should just make something old and trusted better.
All these NEW Cadillac products are SAID to be great. And if we buy one or even two, how can we TRUST GM -Cadillac to fix and make right WHATEVER it mite be if something goes wrong. WHO will they fix the next NorthStar head bolt thing for, ALL or just a special few. This IS the MAIN reason why Cadillac started losing its loyal customers, started making JUNK but then not helping fix the JUNK they sold . It will take YEARS to regain trust, and that’s AFTER years of FIXING ALL Cadillac vehicles with the same KNOWN FAULTY PARTS.
So true…Some people don’t like facts.
GM always comes up short on great tech and quality, and then instead of refining it and making it better over the long term, they just scrap it and start over.
Love GM (not always though!), but will they ever get it that DETAILS MATTER and cheaping out on plastics and other materials will just kill you in the end? Why can’t they figure out that hammering the details is VERY important to customer loyalty (Mercedes, Honda, etc.). Refine the great tech and innovative designs you do come out with…Don’t just cancel it and start over…ridiculous. Some people like refinement over years and if they did it they would not always be chasing sales and profits like they always have to. Listening, Mary Barra???
Tell me how you really feel.
Some people are too sensitive and want to avoid reality. Some people need their safe spaces.
Now hurry along and go find your safe space, little one…
Since Cadillac is going to have it’s own unique engines.. which I still find hard to believe. They may have unique production code, LTA for this engine, but change the turbo size and it gets a new internal code, ergo a 4.2 TT engine unique to Cadillac is now on a Corvette.
Anyways, I wonder if Blackwing is the start of their new engine series. I’m thinking Johnny Walker style. The 550hp 4.2 is Blackwing. The detuned 500hp varint Greenwing. A higher spec engine Redwing.
…and one that taxes your wallet: Leftwing.
“I wonder if Blackwing is the start of their new engine series. I’m thinking Johnny Walker style. The 550hp 4.2 is Blackwing. The detuned 500hp varint Greenwing. A higher spec engine Redwing.”
Don’t compare Cadillac to Johnny Walker. Cheap blended scotch is far beneath Cadillac.
Blackwing sounds bad ass, makes me think of B2s. Very sinister.
Northstar belongs in history books with the rest of the bad decisions & crap they built in the eighties & nineties … Preferably in the “Learn from your mistakes” chapter.
If this engine was designed for Chevrolet, it would very easy think of seeing a production engine with an engine cover saying Nightwing on it; but given this is for Cadillac, it’s unlikely except for some aftermarket people who may design their own custom engine cover that said Nightwing LTA.
Blackwing sounds like a comic book superhero.
Since Olds is defunct, they could call it a Rocket V8.
Do we know if the 6 people will build all the V8s–or just the 550 hp version?
I’m hoping they’ll make a non-turbo version and automate production to lower costs and replace the 3.6 V6 in all Cadillacs.
The diesel V8, the V8-6-4. and especially the HT4100 began the ruin of Cadillac’s reputation in the 80’s, but the Northstar was in all of their cars for years. It was criminal that it took them 12 years to change to a stronger head bolt design, and they should have at least subsidized the repair of the thousands of headgaskets that failed.
I found out just before I sold it that my 2004 Deville was built after the mid-year change to better bolts, but I was anxious the 6 years I owned it.
GM, not fixing problems, 8-speed shudder, is why I have a Tundra!
At the end of the day, who cares about the name on it. What are the 0-60, 1/4 mile and top end specs?
Don’t fix the problem just change the name. That seems to be GM’s M O for quiet some time now. I am hopeing that the BLACKWING is a vast improvement in performance and reliability over the NORTHSTAR. That being said I still like the NORTHSTAR name better.
I agree, NORTHSTAR II maybe, how about BLACKSTAR, or DARKSTAR?
Funny thing is this article calls it BLACKHAWK?
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2018/10/2019-cadillac-cts-v-ats-v-pedestal-editions-bid-farewell-to-the-performance-machines/
what is replacing the Caprise in Australia well it a Cadillac if so what one please tell me