Many General Motors fans were understandably upset when it was announced that the twin-turbocharged 4.2L Blackwing V8 engine would not be used in any products apart from the now-defunct Cadillac CT6 Platinum and Cadillac CT6-V. The innovative reverse flow, dual overhead cam V8 was, after all, exactly the type of engine Cadillac needed to finally put its powertrain portfolio on an even keel with brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
The Blackwing V8 may have no future within GM, but it turns out the engine will indeed live on – albeit in a very unlikely place. Manifattura Automobili Torino, an Italian company that makes low-volume performance cars and specialty vehicles on contract, has entered an agreement with GM to use the 4.2L Blackwing V8 engine design in a yet-to-be-unveiled new vehicle. The engine will continue its development at the GM Powertrain Torino engineering facility in Piedmont, which GM recently sold to Belgian powertrain company Punch Group, before being used in the new MAT-built car. Work on certain GM projects will continue at the Turin-based facility until the end of 2021, GM said previously.
MAT has not released any details on the project that will utilize the Blackwing V8. The company mainly builds performance vehicles, though. It currently has a contract to produce the New Stratos, a retro-styled revival of the classic rally car based on the Ferrari F430, and will also soon start production of the 1,900+ horsepower Aspark Owl – a fully electric hypercar developed by a Japanese vehicle engineering firm.
Considering its performance car expertise and the Blackwing V8’s significant output, it seems likely the MAT mystery vehicle will be a sports car or supercar of some type. As a reminder, the 4.2L Blackwing V8 produced 500 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque in the CT6 Platinum and 550 horsepower and 627 pound-feet in the performance-focused CT6-V. It was paired exclusively with a 10-speed automatic transmission in the CT6, though MAT has not said what transmission it plans to use in its vehicle.
In a statement sent to Hagerty last week, a MAT spokesperson said GM engines like the Blackwing are well-suited to the unique vehicle projects it works on.
“MAT and Punch Torino are cooperating on the development of products based on the renowned engines of the American group, which are well suited for special applications, from racing to road usage,” the spokesperson said. “Punch Torino inherits all the know-how and knowledge of the former GM Global Propulsion System and it is specialized in the development and in the ‘business to business’ distribution of propulsion systems.”
“MAT is obviously very proud to present this cooperation, a sign and a confirmation not only of our engineering capabilities but also of the standing and the trust that big companies are giving us. This collaboration is going to open many interesting possibilities and a new exciting chapter for MAT.”
So even though Cadillac is slowly turning its attention away from gas-powered cars to focus on EVs like the upcoming Cadillac Lyriq crossover and Cadillac Celestiq sedan, fans will still be able to get their hands on a hairy-chested Blackwing V8-powered car thanks to MAT. What type of vehicle it will be, how much it will cost and what kind of numbers it will be built in all remains to be seen, but at least the innovative Blackwing design won’t be going to waste.
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This post was written in collaboration with our sister publication, Cadillac Society.
Source: Hagerty
Comments
There has already been an update to that Hagerty article.
https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2020/03/09/gm-responds-mat-blackwing-v8-deal-up-in-air-for-now
Such a sad, sad story. For anyone who hoped for, argued for, rallied for Cadillac to get the right pieces to win again, the Blackwing/Omega saga is a true tragedy. I’d like to know how many Blackwing Cadillacs were actually built but I imagine the number is going to be around 2,500. The Blackwing should’ve been the immediate successor to the Northstar and should’ve been the engine under the hood of the CT6 from the outset. Things might not be so dire for Cadillac now if it had been. Instead Cadillac has their back against the wall with an impossible “one last chance” gamble on new technology that so far the public hasn’t embraced en masse. And the wonderful new Blackwing has been cast off to novelty status in an Italian car.
Can you be more dramatic? Are you driving a CT6 with the Blackwing? If not, why not? Are you even driving a Cadillac?
Life is too short to dwell on this endlessly. Move on and look to the future. Get with the change or you’re going to be left behind.
The fiasco with the Blackwing has certainly caused another black eye for GM. The need badly to find a home for this engine in the GM stable. Even a 3 to 5 year life span would be better that what’s happening now.
Who told that this engine was dead for Cadillac? Gma? With all my respect to this site,but they often post bs rumors from the different sources than the real inside info.
Yeah,Celestiq by 2025 and Lyriq by 2023 lol these are their dates according to this site.
While the real dates look like this: 2021 for Lyriq and 2022 for the sedan.
They dont know what they post. Lol Also their last post about Lyriq’s interior is also a bs.
Blackwing will be in Vss-r platform Cadillacs. This is not a guess.
Which are the VSS-R Cadillacs?
I sure hope you are right.
“Will Cadillac share the Blackwing engine with other brands?
“Over my dead body,” Cadillac President Steve Carlisle
– MotorTrend March 19, 2019.
As Thomas Jefferson said, “If you have to eat Crow, eat it while it’s young and tender.”
Bon Appetit, Steve…
Blackwing is not dead for Cadillac. Stop posting this bs rumors. Ev models is a one thing, but don’t forget about the upcoming Vss-r platform and the models that will be based on that platform. There will be several ice engine Cadillacs that will get this engine.
This is an inside information. My sources are always correct.
I know you love to pull the “I have inside sources” card, Luigi (God forbid you actually back it up, for once…), but I’m going to say that I think you’re right, not based on fictitious sources from within GM, only based on my gut feeling. The VSS-R platform is still a total mystery to us, and we have no idea what future it holds.
Who knows how true this is, but a friend of mine (HUGE GM guy, to the point where I worry about him) said that the XT6 was only meant to be a placeholder for a future VSS-R-based, full-size, RWD Cadillac SUV, and that car could very likely get the Blackwing. Supposedly, GM didn’t think it was worth putting this SUV on Omega, which would be without it’s main product (the CT6) anyway, so they needed a placeholder while they developed it on VSS-R. That placeholder was the XT6, because Cadillac DESPERATELY needed a 3-row crossover for the short term. With Cadillac’s “electric future,” I can’t put much stock in this, but it would help us make sense of both the XT6 and the “death” of the Blackwing.
Ur friend is correct. The xt6 was and still is a placeholder. My insiders told me the same.
Top Cadillacs will be electric. But there also will be ice engine models. The second gen of the Ct6, several crossovers and a 2 door Cadillac.
This rumor about the death of the blackwing is coming from motor trend. Once again It’s not dead.
Remember that I was first who described the Escalade’s interior way before the presentation while Gma and Alex was saying the Tahoe’s interior was Escalade’s. Lol
Who are your insiders, then? If this ends up being right, I’ll be happy to admit you were right, and give you full credit. But until then, I’m intrigued as to who your “sources” really are. Do yourself a big favor and bolster your credibility.
U need names? lol
They work for Cadillac.
U don’t have to believe. U will see by yourself 😉
That’s basically the answer I expected. I get that playing Mr. Mysterio is probably more fun then proving credibility. Either way, hope you’re right; but regardless, this decade will be a very interesting one at Cadillac.
Sure he can name names, so when those GM employees get fired they can move in with you.
I have sources from inside GM saying they won’t get fired. They also told me that Mark Reuss is a cannibal, the new Hummers are actually diesel H1-sized replacements, and the Aztek is coming back to replace the hated Blazer. Oh, and the new hi-po V-Series variants are going to be called “CT5-V Cimarron.”
Maybe the craziest thing they said is that Barra is actually just a puppet for Roger Smith, who never actually died in 2007 – he’s being kept alive in the basement of RenCen, and running the entire company from there! You heard it here first!
It was also reported on another site that this engine dies with the CT6 and considering the Escalade isn’t getting it and the CT5 either i believe it is dead at GM. Mrs woke simply won’t allow anything as socially irresponsible and fun to live on at Cadillac unless it fits her triple zero future objectives so I’m not holding my breath.
“Mrs woke simply won’t allow anything as socially irresponsible and fun to live on at Cadillac unless it fits her triple zero future objectives…”
Really? Tell that to the hotter CT5-V variant, which was finally confirmed today to have a MANUAL TRANSMISSION paired to the LT4 supercharged V8 under the hood.
https://www.thedrive.com/news/32519/exclusive-photos-show-the-2021-cadillac-ct5-v-will-have-a-manual-transmission
I’ll believe it when I see it. And putting the old 6.2 Pushrod Chevy in place of the new much more exotic Blackwing is hardly anything to brag about in a Cadillac and a simple way of cutting yet more costs.
If you click the link, you’ll see it, Joe. That’s why i provided it. See it, and believe.
And I never said it wasn’t cutting costs, I simply responded to you saying that Barra never lets anything fun or socially irresponsible live at Cadillac. Maybe I’m just crazy, but a supercharged, 650 hp V8 sedan with a stick shift seems pretty fun to me. Maybe I’m in the minority, seeing all those down votes. Interesting.
Btw, I’m no Barra water boy by any means, and have been very critical of her in the past. But if what you said was really true, this car wouldn’t exist. Plenty of other criticisms to go after Barra for.
CT5 V should have a Cadillac Blackwing engine in it. The 6.2 is fantastic but Cadillac should be special, but it not! Remember, this is GM the only reason the 6.2 is still there is because there is no other alternative that is cheaper, if there were 6.2 would be gone too….. To those running GM the blackwing and 6.2 are both just another V8 each interchangeable with the next. One for some reason costs more than the other, Why is that? all v8’s are the same! Sad confused clueless, no vision.
What makes the Blackwing so dam special?. We all know the S/C 6.2 can make a streetable 1,000hp, ever thought the CTS/CT5-V buyers actually WANT the 6.2 S/C ?. “Wah, Cadillac don’t have the DarkwingDuck engine”, the S/C Northstar didn’t prevent GM from going BK, what’s the difference now?.
Sadly there has never really been any continuity at GM. Jump from one thing to another then jump somewhere else, jump back nope jump this way, everyone jump in a different direction all together now.
WHY does it take 30 years to come up with a coherent direction for Cadillac????? GM squandered Cadillac’s heritage, and its image. The pencil pushers didint know or care about any of that. To the GM brain trust its just a marketing name to push higher priced Chevy platforms. It does disgust me what they are doing to Cadillac. I so vividly remember how in the 80’s and 90’s Cadillac and Buick ,were left to die with there TRADITIONAL CUSTOMERS. GM was totaly OK with both makes following there buyers into the grave. I remember the hopelessness and sense that the end was here, when in late 1984 early 85 walking into a room and seeing the abominations that were to be the 1986 El Dorodo, Seville, Riviera, and Torinado… Everyone was like HOW IS THIS HAPPENING??? sadly this far in the future and GM still cant learn from there mistakes. How much longer can the wait be till they finally get it right and STICK TO IT???? Sadly I dont feel that anyone there knows the answer because they dont even know what the question is………….. Whats the point in trying????
I did drink the GM Koolaid for a long time The recipe never changes.
Here it is if you want to make it at home….
Pour water in a glass. Cancel adding Koolaid mix, it COSTS to much!!! Drink… Yum….
Wow, am I a dummy. Here I was all this time thinking you added the mix BEFORE the water!
In all seriousness, your point is well taken. Sad how the bean counters always seem to win out, with few exceptions.
Ha! GM does everything backwards…….
This is just another reason why General Motors CEO Mary Barra should be fired, why spend the time and money to develop the Blackwing V8 and not use the engine; this borders on insanity.. one would have thought the Blackwing V8 would be shoehorned into every vehicle in the Cadillac lineup.
Create something wonderful then throw it in the trash. One thing GM has had consistently is bad leadership. Roger Smith, Jack Smith, and disaster in development Mary Barra. Rick Wagoner seemed to make a effort to fix things but was still the wrong guy for the job. Sadly ALL GM ceo’s come out of the same black hole. Bureaucrats that dont have any clue about the car bizz. They would run GM the same way they would run a type writer replacement part company. Till some one compitant that understands cars and car buyers, takes over the race towards mediocrity will continue at full speed…..
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9j07QQHTaq/?igshid=1n8nhd0zpllrx
More powerful ct5v
If they keep on this track, the GM execs will get their wish of destroying this once great company as they give away great AMERICAN ideas and ingenuity to foreign countries. They’ll be rich though, so who cares? Right?
GM needs a TOTAL management clean out!