Cadillac’s hotly-anticipated “next-level” V-Series vehicles will adopt the name “Blackwing,” according to an exclusive report from our sister publication, Cadillac Society. Citing sources familiar with future Cadillac product plans, Cadillac Society reports that the Blackwing name will be applied to the luxury automaker’s “next-level” V-Series cars, the ones that will slot above the “standard” Cadillac CT4-V and CT5-V models that debuted on May 30th. The official names will be “CT4-V Blackwing” and “CT5-V Blackwing.”
We’ve actually seen these “next-level” Blackwing vehicles before, not only while they were testing at GM’s Milford Proving Grounds, but also in an official teaser at the Detroit Grand Prix early last month. Now, we’re getting confirmation that these vehicles will carry the Blackwing nomenclature when they officially hit the market in the mid-term future.
The Blackwing name comes from the merlette, the black bird portrayed on the first several iterations of the Cadillac badge. Cadillac first used the Blackwing name fo its twin-turbocharged 4.2L V8 LTA engine, which can be found at the top of the Cadillac CT6 lineup, including the 4.2L TT Platinum and CT6-V.
Now, Cadillac will spin the Blackwing name into an entire sub-brand of vehicles that represents the top-of-the-line in terms of performance, with applications for the CT4-V, and CT5-V. A CT6-V Blackwing is also possible, but we have yet to hear anything on that front. This will essentially divide the V-Series lineup into “regular” V-Series models (for example, the Cadillac CT4-V, CT5-V, and CT6-V), and the “next-level” V- Series models (for example, the CT4-V Blackwing).
According to the Cadillac Society, this multi-tier strategy is intended to expand the accessibility of the V-Series brand and hopefully draw in new customers. A similar strategy has already been implemented by Cadillac’s primary German rivals, such as Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW.
As we reported recently, GM President Mark Reuss – who also has executive-level oversight of Cadillac – has stated that previous V-Series models were “hammers” that intimidated customers away from a sale.
Further evidence that Cadillac will spin the Blackwing into its own sub-brand can be traced back to two instances. The first is a trademark application for the “Blackwing” name that GM filed in 2018. The second is additional comments Reuss made at the debut of the standard CT4-V and CT5-V in May. The GM President hinted that more powerful versions of the vehicles were indeed on the way.
“How do you like the Blackwing name?” Reuss asked journalists on the sidelines of the reveal event.
One final note: it’s entirely possible that the Blackwing name will be applied to vehicles without the Blackwing V8, given the name’s wider role as a sub-brand.
We’ll be sure to report any new updates as soon as we get them. In the meantime, subscribe to GM Authority for the Cadillac CT4 news, Cadillac CT5 news, Cadillac news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Source: Cadillac Society
Comments
This will be great. Blackwing has a nice ring to it and it will give an identifiable name to Cadillac! Much needed.
A thought: Maybe just have the CT4 and CT5 V (lite) and then the big dogs called only CT4 and CT5 Blackwing (dropping the V). Wouldn’t that make the Blackwing models seem more exclusive?
I agree 100%. If they’re dead set on keeping the V in there, then Blackwood should come first; Blackwood CT4-V and Blackwood CT5-V. It flows better.
Definitely not Blackwood. That didn’t work so well for Lincoln.
Whoops I guess that was some muscle memory as I started typing hahaha
They could very well be called CT4 Blackwing or CT5 Blackwing… without the V.
From what we’ve learned, that was/is one of the options on the table. But the word Blackwing will be in the final name.
Obviously trying to mimic the very successful Mercedes Black Series which is extremely exclusive.
I like just Blackwing with no V. The V series was getting a little convoluted with the V and V sport trims. GM has kinda of played out the V by throwing it on stuff like the Colorado.
Sort of like Chevy played out the SS badge in the mid to late 2000’s. That being said I really want GM to make another 4 banger SS to replace my aging Sonic.
I like just ‘Blackwing’ rather than V-Blackwing. The latter is overly complicated and I’ve always thought “V” was too much of an imitation of BMW’s M so just call them CT4 Blackwing, CT5 Blackwing, and CT6 Blackwing. However, if the performance brand is ‘Blackwing’ then what is Cadillac’s 4.2 L V-8? I thought that engine was called Blackwing.
Is this another case of Cadillac confusion? Does the 4.2 L V-8 even have a future given that GM was only handbuilding a few of them? Does CT6 itself have a future given that it’s production site is shutting down with no new assembly location named? Cadillac has also been named as GM’s electric brand going forward so how long will Blackwing even be a thing?
If I were in charge, there would continue to be a CT6 and a Blackwing variant with the 4.2 TT V-8. There’d also be a CT5 Blackwing with the V-8 and perhaps a V-6 variant of the powerplant for CT4 and under no circumstances would there be Chevrolets using the Blackwing engines.
Aside from all that, using Blackwing rather than V Series is a big improvement. It sounds sinister and relatable whereas V didn’t illicit much emotion at all. At some point though, Cadillac needs to find something and stick to it.
And I’m a big fan of the Thunderbird Winged logo.
I have a feeling the CT5 V Blackwing won’t cross 600 HP. I guess we will have to wait for the next release again.
A jump from 400 HP for the V to 500 HP for the detuned Blackwing is possible.
I’m curious as to how they are going to merge the two logos, the V badge and the Blackwing badge.
I’m assuming they will apply the Blackwing logo?
That’s a lot of badging. CT4, V logo, Blackwing logo, AWD badge if applicable, and their new torque badge.
Plus the silly Dealership’s name plastered on the back. Every new car I buy, I have the dealer remove their
name from the car or I won’t buy from them. It’s too cluttered and I’m not giving them free advertising.
Maybe the V logo in black and white so that it looks a little like a checkered flag to allude to the track focus of the car? Of course, that would probably upset the Vette guys…
I like it a lot. A real name.
I think many of us saw this coming when the said the V was going entry level performance.
Sure why not.. Blackwing name without the Blackwing V8 engine as this idea has General Motors CEO Mary Barra’s fingerprints all over it; if it totally makes absolutely no sense then Mary Barra probably gave the greenlight.
I truly hope Cadillac has re-considered removing the performance focus out of Cadillac CUVs.
All the efforts they’ve put into performance sedans would be well spent in a Cadillac competitor to the GLC/E AMG. I have high hopes for Cadillac sedans, but as long as CUVs dominate the marketplace, they won’t be the most visible products in the lineup. To a CUV buyer, Cadillac won’t be seen as a competitor to the leading luxury brands.
Cadillac CUVs deserve this performance treatment.
I’m not talking about transverse-mounted engines and turbo fours, nor the same old 3.6 either. GM needs to turn those engines north-south so the XT4/5/6 can get the REAL good stuff like the 3.0TT, Blackwing V8, and that 10-speed transmission.
I think we’ll see performance with the battery electric initiative overlapping with VSS-R. Stay tuned 🙂
I agree Curtnik,
In the past, I’ve owned several Jeep SRT-8 models and the performance was unbelievable! Just because it was an suv didn’t mean it couldn’t handle!
I am excited about the possibility of a CT4 with the Blackwing V8 in it. For the CT5, however, I really don’t see a happy ending to this story…
Option 1 – they put a big, hairy V8 in the car to take it to the next level from the 2019 model. That would be akin to calling the original CTS-V a CTS-V Northstar. I realize Northstar was intended to be the complete system (not just the engine), but almost everyone equated the name to the engine. So, having a Blackwing, Northstar, etc bagged car without the namesake engine is just confusing.
Option 2 – they put a Blackwing V8 in it and take the total performance back to approximately match the ’09 CTS-V. I assume the new car would lap the ring marginally quicker thanks to added torque and suspension and weight improvements, but I doubt it would outrun the ’19 CTS-V.
Option 3 – use the Blackwing engine with electric hybrid to exceed the 2019 CTS-V’s performance. GM has made no hint of this being an option, and I would expect hybrid tech to debut in the Vette first. So, we would be a few years away from a CT5-VB.
Cadillac really needs to be doing better than this.
I saw a short video of them 2-3 weeks ago.. CT4 sounds like a V6.
Its a badass name though. Love it.
Blackwing shmackwing. With the intervening v6 model this will be priced too high and won’t come close to Tesla model 3 performance, which is the current benchmark. Facts.
Wow this many hours have passed and nobody here has whined that CT6 should be Fleetwood and CT4 should be Eldorado? You guys are really buying into this V-Sport/V/Blackwing/no-Blackwing koolaid.
I see where they are headed with the upper level performance for Cadillac calling it the Blackwing, but I always felt that VSeries naming is right for Cadillac. The naming itself makes it a true competitors to the performance brands like the BMW M, AMG, and Jaguar SVR. The lower trim should be like V-S for the VSport. It will take some people some time to come around and start accepting the name.
Those are my thoughts on it.
Only GM can take years to build a name such as V-series, then screw it up with this bullshit….blackwing sub-brand and ridiculous engine rating numbers scheme. WTF…..
Yeah, the market is moving rapidly with high performance AWD, electric, even hybrid options — and, in this corner, from Cadillac, we’re getting a charade.
I really don’t care whether it’s called the CT5-V 800 BlackWing.
I’d prefer to hear about the specs please…
Oh yeah this is really going to get me to buy your car now!
This is STUPID, Cadillac is finished. This makes absolutely NO SENSE! They spent YEARS developing the cache of the V series, And now you’re just gonna demote it to “entry level” performance?!?
And this ‘Blackwing’ BS! GM told anyone who will listen that the Blackwing is a premier twin turbo V8 for ultra high content vehicles…Then they slap the name on everything with four wheels and NO actual Blackwing V8 under the hood?!?
WTF GM! It’s like you’re trying to fail! Stick a fork in Cadillac. They had three chances to redeem some sort of prestige and world impact with the Sixteen, then the Ciel, and finally with the Elmiraj. All they had to do was give us production ready versions of the three. Keep the Escalade, and a ‘bread and butter’ mid-level luxury CUV designed and priced worth a damn, and 2 sedans – one in the entry level segment and one to carry the torch of the CTS; DONE.
Instead we get more schizophrenia, with retarded naming conventions. All the while crapping all over the recent strides they made in the performance and luxury market – meager as they may have been.
Thank god for the Escalade, or Cadillac would have no contender in the luxury market with any recognition.
JzEllis,
I vacillate between trying to be positive because folks don’t like anything critical of GM here and expressing my true frustration in honest terms. Speaking in the latter voice, I completely agree with your assessment. Cadillac is so utterly lost and confused. There are glimmers of hope like the 4.2 TT V-8 Blackwing engine but that’s all they are; glimmers. Everything is a confused muddled mess. No one has any sense of branding or aura or image. They think the carbuying public can keep up with their schizophrenic and never ending model name changes, marketing shifts, tagline inconsistency, leadership changes, and model uncertainties. It’s so bad, even the people running Cadillac don’t seem to know whether their flagship model will be around in six months. Asd to all that the recent styling blunders and dismal product quality and the situation is quite dire.
I don’t know Mark and Mary but from the outside looking in, they appear to be trying desperately to kill Cadillac by the proverbial 1,000 cuts. It’s hard to imagine that people who truly wanted to turn a storied 117 year old brand around could possibly be so incompetent.
And that, sir, is the problem. Your entire comment comes from the stand point of someone who is following this industry closely and drawing opinion-based conclusions from that. And while I appreciate that, it does not represent the point of view of the general car-buying public at large.
By comparison, the public at large does not see nor care about executive-level changes. The branding/aura is something that is your perspective. Here’s another: since the launch of the 2019 CT6 and XT4, I have had various people tell me that they have noticed these “new Cadillacs” on the road and really (emphasis on “really”) like them… so much so, that they will be looking at them closer when it comes time for their next lease (currently Mercedes-Benz and Audi owners). So from the stand point of the general consumer who does not follow this stuff as closely as we do, Cadillac has new product that is attractive and relevant, and it is winning consideration. The marketing will follow to support that direction.
And that is the overwhelming majority of what truly matters in this business. The rest is all perception-based mumbo-jumbo that enthusiasts think is important, good, bad, etc…. but the enthusiast point of view rarely synchs up with that of the general car-buying public.
I love you and the site you created Alex, but lets be real. The general car buying public could give a damn about Cadillac…and rightly so. It shows in their sales, and brand recognition. NO ONE EXCEPT the Cadillac and GM faithful see Cadillac as anything other than a ‘also ran’ or budget luxury offering.
Alex, not trying to be a jerk but what besides maybe exterior styling will bring Mercedes, Audi, and BMW owners to Cadillac?
Interior Design and material quality compared to German Big Three?
The Corporate 3.6 HFV6?
The Small Infotainment Screens?
The lack of Full Digital Gauge Clusters?
Second Rate Luxury Technology compared to German Big Three?
The Tiny Sedan Trunks?
The under powered (For it’s class) 2.0T and yes I have driven it.
So again, besides exterior design, what will bring people to Cadillac?
I love Cadillac and was extremely excited when GM hired Johan to turn them around but as we all now know, the Beancounters won over. It is a real Shame.
Is it your time of the month?
@JzEllis:
You correctly state that Cadillac has spent years developing the “V-Series” cars. Yet if you look at the numbers, all those years have not paid off. It just isn’t working. The total number of paying (stress the paying part) customers and not just the fans of the V’s is just not there. Are they good cars? Yes. Do they match or beat the majority of imports? Yes. Does Cadillac have the people paying big bucks for them? No, not in the numbers they need. Thus it’s time to make a change. Don’t get me wrong, I personally feel GM/Cadillac needs to get to a good plan and stick with it. They need to stop changing things so often. But I also don’t feel the V-series line was doing what they needed, thus a change here would be in order.
Don’t diss the power of a good plan and a good name. In your post you even talk about the great concept cars and they all had great names! I take a lot of flak on here about names and I really do feel Cadillac lost their way when they dropped the good names instead of building on them. But that’s water under the bridge. Blackwing is a great name with the zing to make a statement. Don’t beat up on them about it and let’s hope they make this one work.
I’m not saying the V series should be the end all of Cadillac. As you stated and as I agree; That plan failed. And I predicted it back when they started doing it. Go back in the archives of this sight – if there is such a thing. I said over and over Cadillac will get no where with the Vs. It’s ME TO-ism in a vain attempt to out do the euro sedans. Cadillac IS NOT a Euro sedan company. Cadillac is AMERICAN luxury. Innovative, Brash, Leading edge in features in content, and above all else BOLD in a way only an American Car can be.
They have destroyed all of that. The Escalade keeps the torch alive. But only just barely. It is a vehicle rife in compromise and half-steps as well. But at least the styling and presence have been close enough to evoke that old Cadillac essence.
The faithful at GM have shown with recent Cadillac concepts that they get and understand what a Cadillac should be. But someone or something Will NOT allow them to give Cadillac the treatment and attention it deserves.
Give it up GM. Let Cadillac die peacefully while it still has a modicum of respect.
Amen, brother. I agree with it all except I think GM needs to sell Cadillac rather than letting it die. Look at what BMW did for MINI and Rolls Royce. Selling Cadillac could be a very good thing and it may be the only way to save it.
I appreciate your rage.
I like to think that behind the scenes, GM is pulling back all its good cars because some very nice electric cars are around the corner. As a kid we thought the same thing about the next gen Bonneville or Aurora. Instead, they brought lackluster designs and eventually killed those cars (and brands!).
This makes no sense. If the CT4 won’t be getting the Blackbird engine then how does the name make any sense?
Why could’t GM just let V Series be. They had a following already. Man GM just makes zero sense lately. I like the name for the engine but not for High End Performing Division. I guess I am in the minority on this site about this.
This is dumb! Why would you have a blackwing label without a blackwing engine. That’s like putting Cobra badges on a V6 Mustang. I think car companies are trying their hardest to turn people away from performance cars so they can finally close the books on all of them. It’s honestly no point in even really liking cars anymore. Car manufacturers dont care about their customers. They put vehicles out because they know that people will settle for whatever they put out and as long as they keep getting paid, why should they care? GM, Ford, Dodge, they’re all the same. It’s upsetting because alot of here love these car brands and we want to see them go back to the brands that they were when things were good. The truth of the matter is, those days are gone. We don’t matter to them. The only people they care about are the bean counters. Sorry to say it, but the times of having great cars and enjoyable cars is over. The only thing we’re going to be getting are stupid hybrids and electric cars with performance appearance packages.
Exactly. We are all here because we love GM and want to see it succeed well into the future but man they are making it really hard lately.
Considering that the CT4-V has the 2.7T ‘Tripower’ engine, but no trio of carbs, it makes so much sense that a CT4 Blackwing shouldn’t have the Blackwing V8 engine! Next up: the special edition 2022 ‘Tripower’ Corvette Stingray, marking 55 years of Tripower Corvette history – lightweight, fuel efficient, and faster than the original! 😉
But for the CT4 Blackwing, let me guess…when they officially announce the official specs, they’re going to conveniently say that the V6TT engine in the car is from the ‘Blackwing family’ of engines & call it the Blackwing V6…which would have been fine if they announced a ‘Blackwing group/family’ of engines when they announced the V8 – but they didn’t. Sigh…*someone* at GM gets paid enough to understand the impact of the perception that’s created when it looks like they don’t have a plan and are making it up as they go, right?…right??
So they’re going the Hellcat way, the “V” better stay in the name the same way Dodge kept the “SRT” name.
The V name have too much brand recognition (& good recognition for once) for them to pull a Microsoft and start over.
The CT4 V Blackwing better have a V8 under the hood.
The Dodge equivalent would be to put the Hemi name on a V6 Charger.
Will the electronics quit working and the interior fall apart within 3 years like happened in my CTS-V? I have no kids and barely drive it (at now 5 years old it has less than 35,000 miles) and it’s absolute junk. It’s so bad I had an attorney contact me because he’d heard through friends about how many problems I’d had with it and wanted to represent me. At this point I keep it around as a joke and a moral warning to others.
@Jo Smith:
I certainly haven’t seen nor heard of similar things to what you state above. Something just doesn’t add up there. And an attorney contacting you about it? Can you say ambulance chaser!
So instead of just claiming all this bad about your car, how about you give us other readers an idea of what you otherwise drive or feel is top quality? Because I’ve been in 3 and less year old Volvo’s, M.B, BMW’s and others where the issues were quite, shall we say, bad? Trim coming off. Dash screens not working. etc.
I was disappointed when the “V” appeared knowing the project code name was “Blackfin.” I personally feel that a wrong has been righted here with Blackwing.
I find Cadillac “V-Blackwing” very good for the high end models like the BMW M5 Competition. Cadillac “V-Series” for the “performance models” like BMW M550i also fits very well. Thus one differentiates series models from performance up to the absolute High End models of the respective series.
Many customers in the US and other countries want a BMW Alpina B7S with the power of the BMW M5, but not its extreme sportiness. The BMW Alpina B7S (V8) tops the BMW M760i (V12) sporty, but sporty is not yet top luxury.
When can Cadillac develop and sell similar models as BMW Alpina to customers worldwide?
Which brand would that be for Cadillac?
Notes! Real customers love the brand and stay true to it.
“When can Cadillac develop and sell similar models as BMW Alpina to customers worldwide?
Herman,
How about never? Cadillac doesn’t have a worldwide presence being mostly US and China centric. (And if the trade war escalates, it will be down to the US) Cadillac’s world luxury market share is barely 1%.
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