Why The New Cadillac Engine Is Called Blackwing
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GM’s Cadillac recently announced that it will discontinue its high-performance CTS-V and ATS-V models before expanding the range in the near future. That expansion starts with new Cadillac CT6-V, which is the very first future Cadillac model to use the all-new Twin-Turbo 4.2L DOHC V8 LTA engine. The motor is branded Blackwing, and the origin of that name is noteworthy.
As uncovered by our friends at Cadillac Society, the Blackwing name actually comes from the original Cadillac emblem, which featured a black bird called the merlette.
1908 Cadillac Logo
1920 Cadillac Logo
The Cadillac CT6-V was initially introduced as CT6 V-Sport in 2018. Months later, Cadillac renamed the model to CT6-V, making it a full-on V-Series model. Powered by the new 4.2L Twin-Turbo V8 Blackwing engine, the large bruiser delivers an estimated 550 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque. Apart from being a beastly engine, the Blackwing is also Cadillac’s (and GM’s) first Dual OverHead Cam (DOHC) V8 since the Northstar V8 series.
Every individual Blackwing engine is truly a masterpiece in its own right. Each unit is handcrafted by a single technician at the GM Bowling Green high-performance build center.
Each crafter signs their Blackwing engine upon completion, just as an artist marks their signature on a finished piece of art. Those who have had the chance to live it know full well the special feeling of seeing the name of the person who created the heart of their car.
Deriving the engine name from its storied past is indicative that Cadillac has not forgotten its beginnings, and we tip our hats to those who came up with the idea.
Stay tuned to GM Authority for more Cadillac news.
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I would love to see this in the ct5 v. I am a cost conscious buyer and the price needs to be in the 70s fully loaded! Nobody will turn to AMG or M if this is possible
“I am a cost conscious buyer and the price needs to be in the 70s fully loaded!”
Then you are not a luxury consumer.
Luxury is not a value proposition, as the best things in life have always cost good money.
“Nobody will turn to AMG or M if this is possible”
These luxury consumers will continue to buy AMG and M cars, as they want the best performance sedans that few can ever have, not something value-priced for the cost-conscious non-luxury buyer to easily reach for. There would be no importance in a Blackwing powered Cadillac if anybody could get one; it wouldn’t be exclusive if it were accessible at a deliberately lower price-point.
To ask Cadillac (or Mercedes and BMW for that matter) to lower their standards just to make their premier offerings more accessible is a contradiction of what it means to be a luxury automaker. Luxury, by definition, is exclusive goods or services that are in high demand but with deliberate restrictions that keep them from being too commonplace, and therefore of little public importance.
TL;DR:
It’s unwise to ask Cadillac to under-cut the completion in cost savings for the short-term benefit of higher unit sales, unless you want to see Cadillac repeat the same self-inflicted injury of never being able to command top-dollar and the highest public respect like it’s done to itself for almost 65 years.
Graw Daddy,
I don’t think you need to charge Louis Vitton prices to the regular American bloke. Has your luxury strategy worked out so far? Are you selling any cars? Do you want to remain in business?
I look at every detail when I look to buy an AMG, M or V. This is a performance class, luxury is secondary. The reason you have so many people on this forum complaining is because we know where we want this to be in terms of price or performance.
All we hope is getting it right this time around so we dont have to buy German cars again! Those cars are so good we are bored of them. We need Cadillac to put a proposition which appeals to German sedan buyers.
The Sports Sedan, not an SS or a Camaro, but indeed a vanilla four door performance variant with power close to 600 hp.
Sorry and Cheers,
Sean
“I don’t think you need to charge Louis Vitton prices to the regular American bloke.”
If Cadillac cannot be the Louis Vitton of American luxury cars, then what business does it have?
–
“Has your luxury strategy worked out so far? Are you selling any cars? Do you want to remain in business?”
The strategy works just fine for AMG and M, as you’ve pointed it out. What’s the problem with Cadillac commanding par for the market? It’s like you don’t think Cadillac should be priced accordingly; that Cadillac should cripple itself and make it perpetually difficult for GM to have Cadillac taken seriously.
If you want Cadillac to be taken seriously, then Cadillac’s strongest card it can play CANNOT be on price. We’ve seen decades of that practice boil Cadillac down into insignificance in both the US and before the world.
–
“The reason you have so many people on this forum complaining is because we know where we want this to be in terms of price or performance.”
You and I do not speak for GMA, it’s users, their buying capacity, and their demands of car. What may be of most importance for one user may be secondary to another or of no concern to others.
–
“We need Cadillac to put a proposition which appeals to German sedan buyers.”
And you and I both know that price isn’t a mitigating factor in wooing those German sedan buyers into a Cadillac, as even having a 2nd gen CTS-V undercutting the market by $15K wasn’t enough to steer them away from AMG or M.
Clearly price isn’t a concern for these people, and it still won’t be if the CT5-V was capped at $70K as you’re suggesting. Presently, the M5 and the E-AMG start at $100K, and it would be foolish for GM to throw away an extra $30K if they too had the ability to put up an equally outstanding CT5-V.
Nobody in Germany is worrying about the M5 or E-AMG being priced too high or selling too few at that price because they know they’ll sell every last car the build, so why can’t GM do the same with the CT5-V?
Tell me why Cadillac cannot be the Louis Vitton of American luxury cars. Tell me why Cadillac to remain the Great Value WalMart brand of American luxury cars.
Graw Daddy,
Thanks for your response. All points noted. Just wanted to point out that the German performance cars are imports. Cadillac is made in USA and so are some of the German brands. I currently drive an AMG GLC 63 s which sold for 91 k, and i got 10k off MSRP due to AMG and dealership promotions.
My favorite car was the 2010 CTS-V coupe. We got that car for 75 k max and it was awesome. Its been 9 years I can’t get my hands on a car like that again. It undercut the BMW and AMG offerings. Over time the price has increased on all brands. I am fighting to get my CTS-V back. The current car you have is really nice, I really like it but by the time you load it up its at a 100k. Also, the AMG E63s is at 120 k loaded, the M5 Competition is at 120 k loaded. You are right you undercut the Germans by 20 k, but it was also taken upmarket. If you could bang out a made in the USA car at 80k fully loaded you would have people lined up everywhere.
I have been on this board for 9 years hoping i get my old car back. I also looked around for a new one in 2016 but nothing was left in the inventory. Also, if you wonder i worked at a Cadillac dealership for a few months. I sold new and used cars but most of my sales were used other brands!
Think about it, a CT5 v, needs to be positioned higher than an AMGc63s, which demands like 85k now, And lower than the AMG E63s which is 120 k loaded. The middle point is the current CTS V.
However, if we were to get the bigger car like the CTS V and stay on course for a 80k fully loaded offering, nobody would be car shopping in the segment again. Its a no brainer to go for the Cadillac. Everyone wants a low payment monthly. Its just a matter of 10k.
Currently I follow the next M3 Competition, and the next AMGc63s. The blacking engine is the most powerful of these offerings. You are not paying for the Corvette engine, so I would think the price would come down to right? Maybe 80 with all the bells and whistles?
Im really in the middle of BMW, AMG and Cadillac. Im 3 years away from my next car but i am chasing it from now.
Now i would love to right more, but gotta play with my daughter.
Cheers,
Sean
Completely agree!
It will be………and it won’t be……
How many handbuilt blackwings can/will be made per year?
Have any CT5 specs leaked to this point?
Will CT5-V be AWD? With the 10 speed or new Vette dual clutch?
Would they give any consideration to making the V sport sort of a throwback(6.2, stick, RWD)?
Very interesting. I love that the engine crafters sign it, that’s really cool. Thanks for sharing.
Sorry, but where is your source rating this as fact.
Or is this a classic correlation does not imply causation.
As I replied to your exact same comment on Cadillac Society, Cadillac is the source.
Suffice to say that if you see any info here, it has been verified as being true and real… unless otherwise noted.
Both of your sentences seem to be missing question marks, which make it peculiar to understand them as such.
I don’t get the point of these guys like Andrew. What is the point asking this stuff. He seems to think there is some sort of conspiracy for misinformation or something of that sort. What is the source and point of your question Andrew?
The point is there was no sources. And as I said they may have just been putting two things together that don’t have fact backing them.
GMA op-eds are usually flawed. Especially when it comes to technical/mechanical abilities, so I was merely questioning if this was fact or an opinion based on previous iterations of the Cadillac shield.
Andrew, it is really sad that you chose this medium to voice your sophomoric opinion, which detracts from the conversation about the topic at hand. The much more appropriate approach would have been to simply email me directly with your comments, concerns, etc. I should just boot you and delete your comments outright, but I’ll do you several levels better… and since you stepped into the kitchen, I hope you can take the heat. Now then, to explain why your comment borders on being total poppycock to being woefully incorrect.
GM Authority cites sources when and if appropriate. But more importantly, one must recognize that we are professionals in what we do. Anything you see published on GMA goes through a vetting process. That isn’t to say it’s perfect… and when it’s not, it gets corrected. So there is that.
Now let’s switch to this part of your comment: “GMA op-eds are usually flawed”.
First, let’s recognize that statement exactly for what it is – your personal opinion. Second, I’ll state that this opinion is flawed and does not correlate to reality. More importantly, our op-eds are clearly marked as such. You can agree or disagree without them to your heart’s content… that’s why they are opinion pieces. So it is begging to seem that you have some kind of a personal agenda that’s at the root of your negative diatribe.
Again, it’s a shame that you chose to take this path of communication in a feeble attempt to sully the reputation of GM Authority – a publication that various professionals put their heart and soul into on a daily basis, taking the time and effort to build and establish credibility… all because of some convoluted and sick personal agenda. I hope things get better for you. Help us out there!
My original comment was seeking clarification. There was no source even hinted at, so who is to say where the information and/or opinion comes from?
1. The story had a source from the very beginning. That source was Cadillac Society, which got its info directly from Cadillac. That invalidates your claim that there was not a source that was hinted at.
2. Do you ask the Wall Street Joural for their source in much the same way?
3. What is your obsession/fascination with sources?
4. Do you just assume that information is wrong and incorrect? I can count on one hand how many times in the past decade that scenario potentially took place here at GM Authority, simply because we are professionals in what we do, and conduct our business responsibly.
We are in the business of good, timely and correct information… suffice it to say that it is in our best interest for that information to be correct.
Haha Alex your source, Cadillac Society, is an interal source, that itself never cited anyone beyond that.
My fascination here is that it sounds pretty flimsy they named a new top tier engine in connection with little birds on the Cadillac sheild.
I’ll make a little list:
1. You can let it go bud.
2. No one likes the company that challenges every Amazon review they get. 3. Sheesh.
Example, you write a story about the colour options for the CT6-V and no source. Great. I can go look at Cadillac eventually. But no one can stroll down to their local Cadillac and ask “why’s it called blackwing?”
Was curious where the information came from or clarifying if it was a near detail GMA connected to Cadillac’s past that *could* have influence the new engine name.
You’re in the wrong business if you don’t like constructive criticism and being questioned.
Whats great is instead of going on the defensive. You could’ve said your source. Was it someone at Cadillac in marketing. Was it a press release. Was it Mary at 3am calling you up saying “Alex! We need you’re help! We need to know why we called it Blackwing”
As for your wall street comment, remember what happened when elon musk started making claims of going private ??
Andrew – you remind me of a bug that has climbed into an open wine bottle, and now can’t get out.
First, no one is getting on the defensive. You asked a question with a negative undertone and I replied to your question within a few short minutes, satisfying your initial inquiry outright. At that point, a simple “Thank you” would have sufficed, and this conversation would have been over in a polite and tasteful fashion.
But instead, you felt the need to defend the negativity of your initial question, much like the aforementioned bug felt the need to climb inside the wine bottle. Hey, I get it – it’s not every day that an executive from a publication gets engaged and actually replies to your comments… and it is an even rarer occurrence that said executive calls you out on what is simply a bad comment (yes, those do exist – and yours are textbook examples of them).
So when I pointed out that your comments are poppycock, you got all defensive. At no point did you think to say “thank you for answering my question” or anything along those lines. All you did was climb further and further into the bottle… and now you can’t get out because you’re simply stuck.
For the sake of reference, here is your original comment.
“Sorry, but where is your source rating this as fact.
Or is this a classic correlation does not imply causation.”
That’s not a “simple” question. That is a question with a tinge of unwarranted malice and negativity.
In summary: you should consider that you’re THE ONLY ONE of millions of GM Authority readers and visitors who asks for sources, as if you had some kind of a fetish for sources.
As I have stated before, we cite, reference or otherwise note sources when and/if necessary. When information is official and/or concrete, source citing is not necessary.
I should also mention that Cadillac has updated its website with information about the origin of the Blackwing name for the new 4.2L TT V8 engine, thereby corroborating our story. Feel free to check out out right here:
http://gmauthority.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Cadillac-website-screne-shot-2019-Cadillac-CT6-V-Blackwing-Engine.jpg
Andrew, it takes a big man to admit when he’s wrong. Let’s see if you can sack up and do that.
Oh and regarding your Wall Street comment: I was asking whether you ask the Wall Street Journal – the world-class publication – for references. Do you berate with the WSJ or the New York Times for their sources, or is this something with which you try to abuse GM Authority exclusively?
Oh ok thanks. To be honest GMA rarely cites sources…
Well I am sure the Cadillac story may be true.
But I would suspect that other makes using Black in the name of their premium models may also hold some influence with the marketing people.
AMG has a Black Series model. It also comes with a signed engine by the builder.
I remember the Fiero was stated as proud in Italian and found in a book during a naming session by John Schinella. The Fiero was yo be named the Pegasus hence the emblem.
Now the funny thing was back in 1968 the Fiero was a Fierbird Show car and the name at that time stood for FI-rebird a-ERO concept.
If you look at many names and ideas used from Detroit they often will have some real history and a mix of marketing creativity.
No matter the story it sounds good and the first thing that came to mind was AMG Black.
So this is the new mid engine cars heart ay?
I dig it
Don’t know why, but damn it sounds so badass.
Okay just curious: Is the only difference between the version in the Platinum (500hp) and V-series (550hp) just engine tuning? Because if so, a person who missed out on the 275 V cars can take a Platinum 4.2 to a reputable performance shop and “unlock” the V horsepower/torque ratings. Of course, who knows what that would do to your factory warranty.
D3 Performance is (or at least was) an approved Cadillac tuning shop. Without looking I bet they have a reliable 650hp 91 octane tune for that engine
Taking AMG’s strategy of signing the Engine in your performance sedan I see Cadi very original….
That Merlette bird, doesn’t look very menacing. Isn’t it just a black version of a sparrow? And we all know how feared those pesky birds are…Lol
And Merlettes are “Mythical wingless birds” according to the documentation I received when I started work at the Cadillac Motor Car Division (about what sometimes feels like 100 years ago !!!)
Just don’t bring back that annoying Duck from The Caddy that Zigs commercials! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stUifwZXuco
I think this is what Caddy needs an exclusive engine with tons of attitude and a title to rival the Euro/Asian competition. Hopefully it will surpass expectations and be reliable and mod friendly. Give the buyer a feeling that they can have a little fun with it, there are plenty of mods for its foreign competitors we need to play on the same field.
The name for Cadillac’s new engine won’t mean anything unless Cadillac is willing to make the new 550hp twin-turbo V8 available in as many Cadillac vehicles as possible.
I love hearing stories about the legacy of Cadillac. I like hearing that about every division at GM because history and a legacy is something you can’t buy or make up. You have to actually live it out and nothing else can replace that. That is one of the reasons that I was so against the decision and hated to see Oldsmobile and Pontiac go. They should have been invaluable to GM.