There is arguably no engine more synonymous with the United States auto industry than the mighty V8. And for the first time since 2011, America’s most iconic luxury car brand, Cadillac, has unveiled a brand-exclusive V8 engine. While the motor shares a dual overhead camshaft layout, don’t call it a Northstar. This 4.2 liter twin-turbocharged V8 is sinisterly called The Blackwing.
Currently, The Cadillac Blackwing will only be found under the hood of the 2019 Cadillac CT6 and CT6-V models. In the standard car, the engine will produce 500 hp and 553 lb-ft. In the performance oriented V guise, however, the twin turbo V8 will offer 550 horsepower and 627 ft lbs of torque. Cadillac says they have optimized the motor for a smooth, flat power curve. By placing the turbochargers between the banks of the engine, turbo lag is reduced and throttle response improves. The Germans have been using this “hot vee” setup for a while, and now General Motors will follow suit with The Cadillac Blackwing.
The Cadillac Blacking, known internally as the LTA, will share another similarity with its German rivals from Affalterbach, as the motor is slated to be hand built. One of six skilled engine builders will assembly each Blackwing individually at the Corvette facility in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The 6.2 Liter supercharged LT4 that sits at the heart of the Corvette Z06 and Camaro ZL1 are also built by hand in this facility.
Cadillac was the first automaker to offer a V8 engine in a mass produced car back in 1914. The Type 51 debuted in September of that year, and under the hood was a 5.5 liter V8, which featured an L shaped head, as well as water cooling. Power output was an impressive for the time 70 horsepower. Cadillac sold 13,002 V8 powered cars the first year the Type 51 was on offer.
Instead of following suit, Cadillac made a bold decision to release their 1915 model with an all new V8 engine. They believed that the compact shape of the “vee” type engine, coupled with the lack of a troublesome long crankshaft would make the Cadillac V8 the top motor to have.
With the introduction of The Blackwing, Cadillac is once again hoping to lure customers away from the competition with an all new V8 engine. While Cadillac was the first to bring a V8 to the segment in the early years of the automobile, they are one of the last to do so in the segment today. With the CT6 slated to end production in mid-2019, it may be a decision made too late.
Comments
The CT6 won’t be ending production.
Correct. The production will be moved to another facility.
Looks good. Would like to see more updates on CT5 V Blackwing 550 HP and CT5 V LT4 650HP
Horsepower Rules!!!
Weird how the ad featured clips of birds flying a couple times but they weren’t merlettes. So weird. You would think the engine’s namesake bird would’ve been used as the bird of choice.
Just make the 550 hp twin-turbo V8 available as an option in almost every vehicle in the Cadillac fleet which would make the hype video unnecessary; why spend the money to develop such an engine if you’re going to make it an exclusive to just 1-2 cars which have low sales volume.. making the Blackwing V8 available as an engine option for the Escalade, XT5 and upcoming XT6 would create excitement.
“why spend the money to develop such an engine if you’re going to make it an exclusive to just 1-2 cars which have low sales volume”
To keep demand high.
The FWD chassis in the XT5, and XT6 could never handle the engine. They need to make this engine an option for the…………
2019 CT6 Platinum ( detuned to 500 hp.)
2020 CT5 V
2021XT7 V
2022 Escala (standard engine detuned to 500 HP. )
2023 Escala V
2022 CT7 (detuned to 500hp)
2023 CT7
2022 XT8
2023 XT8 V
Cien Sport will have different engines…..LT5/LT7/LT8
It’s about time. That’s the best GM advertisement I’ve seen in my lifetime (I’m 45).
Like a rock- Bob Seger
After a year or two of hand built engines, they should come out with a non-turbo version to replace the 3.6 in all their cars that can fit it. Imagine the boost in prestige and distinctiveness, and who cares about mpg in a $50k car? Otherwise, it will be too big a financial loss to improve in the future, so it will fall behind as the Northstar did.
Too bad Cadillac lost the reputation for advanced engineering, ruggedness, and reliability that it had a hundred years ago. The US Army bought them to use as staff cars in WW I.
The engine will find a way into most Cadillac RWD applications. That will be more than two.
The block may be used in the Corvette but I expect it to have its own heads and not use the hot V. This would give Chevy their own version.
I am hoping the engine finds its way into the race car. It is now running a Chevy but marketing would do well if Cadillac won Daytona or the series with a Cadillac engine.
Dear God, no, please don’t give “Chevy their own version”. That’s Cadillac’s problem; way too much of their products and/or components come straight out of a Chevrolet. The Blackwing should be THE Cadillac engine and no Chevrolet, not even the Corvette should have a version.
Wise up it could easily be done to a point they would be very different engines sharing only the lower end.
If not you will not see the Blackwing last very long.
It is not any different than the CT5 and the next Camaro using the same platform. If you do it right few will know.
Different heads, cams and intakes would make two different engines yet still help cost.
The 4 valve is coming to Chevybat some point as emissions will require the 4 valves.
Any thoughts about a possible performance engine option for the new Escalade?
Should be with the current 6.2 V8 engine, but with Turbos or Supercharger?
Finally, Great name, great commercial. Looks like they are learning. Well done.
This is a good ad but I am still so confused. GM is launching a brand-new Cadillac exclusive V-8 for their luxury brand but they also just announced that Cadillac will become an electric car brand. Is that right? I’m all for the Blackwing and I think its the right thing for the brand. They should build upon what they are known for and after 100 years, the V-8 is certainly a big part of what their name is synonymous with but how does that square with the big ‘We will become Tesla’ pronouncement a few weeks ago.
Then there is the CT6 itself. Is it staying? Is it going? We have here a big announcement of an engine hailed as “Available exclusively in the Cadillac CT6” but that car reportedly has six months to live. No, wait, Mark Ruess said it’ll live on, maybe, somewhere, although they aren’t sure where. They never meant to kill it, he said, even though a Cadillac spokesperson confirmed production would end after 2019.
I think the CT6 with the Blackwing will be a fantastic car and it is what Cadillac has been needing but there is no way I would buy a car, any car, from these people. They don’t know up from down. They have no clue how to run a luxury brand and fired the only guy who seemed to have an inkling of what they needed to do.
Having said all that, I do think Cadillac needs to embrace electric propulsion as will all other brands. However, they need meld it into their current brand philosophy and develop a message that is consistent. Having Mark Ruess go out and say that in the future Cadillac will be GM’s electric brand and this is their last chance sent a very confusing message. Cadillac has spent 15 years trying to be BMW. What happens to that? Where does that leave the V Series models? How about their new racing program? Now they are going to be Tesla! Huh? I’m confused.
A better approach would have been having Ruess try and tie it all together and say something like this: “Our plan for Cadillac going forward is to return it to being ‘The Standard of the World’ and that will encompass every attribute of our cars and everything we do. We are committed not to just build good cars, but rather to build great cars. In the future we’ll be launching more electric models and we’re excited about the performance capabilities of our electric cars to come. Just as our current V Series models have set performance standards for gasoline engines, so too will our electric models to come. I think you’ll be impressed; they’re fast! And, speaking of performance, we’re not abandoning our heritage there either and the V-8 has been a hallmark at Cadillac since the beginning so you’ll soon see an exclusive new Cadillac V-8 that builds on 100 years of Cadillac tradition. This new 4.2 liter turbo V-8 is the most technological Cadillac engine ever and will produce 550 horsepower in top trim. It’ll be called Blackwing and will deliver the kind of power and refinement Cadillacs are known for. Another part of our heritage has been building cars that cruise effortlessly. Now we have SuperCruise which takes this classic Cadillac virtue to an all new level with entirely hands-free driving. We’re already leading the industry in autonomy with SuperCruise and will continue to launch this system across our portfolio of products to continue to elevate the driving experience. All of this, and much more, will be part of re-establishing Cadillac as a world leader, as, in fact, The Standard of the World.”
Obviously, I’m no PR expert and a statement like that would need to be expounded upon and honed but the general idea is to not create such a confusing mess of images for Cadillac. Rather, they need to take their hallmark values and apply them to a new era and for a new generation of buyers and tie the V Series cars to the electric cars to come so as to create a coherent brand image built around a central theme. The old slogan ‘Standard of the World’ could easily become the unifying theme.
The mixed message is just another time that GM has changed management before they can deliver the whole deal.
This engine was a Mark and JDN program. Mark started it JDN oversaw it. Then JDN was gone.
Now the board is back changing the plan again.
This is why we have a CT6 that really does not fit much in the plan as it was a product of the leader Cadillac 2 leaders ago..