General Motors today has confirmed that the ultra high-performance variants of Cadillac V-Series sedans will wear the Blackwing name. The upcoming, track-capable models will be called CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing. GM Authority was first to report on the naming plans in July of 2019.
GM’s luxury arm added that the CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing will represent the “apex of Cadillac performance and driver engagement.”
“The Blackwing name has come to represent the very best of Cadillac performance engineering, craftsmanship and technology,” said Brandon Vivian, Cadillac executive chief engineer. “The new CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing build on the brand’s respected legacy of ultimate-performance driving experiences and elevate them even further.”
A prototype of the Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing
Cadillac also added that the upcoming V-Series Blackwing models will feature specially tuned chassis, vehicle control technologies and engines. As we also reported previously, the CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing will also be offered with a manual transmission – a feature most luxury brands no longer offer, but one that continues to be desired by many performance driving enthusiasts.
A prototype of the CT5-V Blackwing
What’s more, both next-level V-Series sedans have been undergoing testing on public roads as well as sessions at tracks and road courses around the country. Cadillac says that each car set lap times that were seconds faster at Virginia International Raceway than the ATS-V and CTS-V, which the CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing will indirectly replace.
No other details were provided about either V-Series vehicle. However, GM Authority previously reported that, despite using the Blackwing name, neither the CT4-V Blackwing nor the CT5-V Blackwing will use the Cadillac-exclusive twin-turbo 4.2L V8 DOHC Blackwing LTA engine, which will no longer be utilized in any vehicle following the discontinuation of the CT6-V in February 2020.
Instead, GM Authority has learned from sources familiar with the project that each model will utilize a massaged version of the high-performance gasoline engines previously used in the ATS-V and CTS-V. In the case of the CT4-V Blackwing, that engine will be a twin-turbocharged 3.6L V6 LF4 that was rated at 464 horsepower and 445 pound-feet of torque in the ATS-V. Meanwhile, the CT5-V Blackwing will feature the supercharged 6.2L V8 LT4 engine that was rated at 640 horsepower and 630 pound-feet of torque in the third-generation CTS-V.
Like many other GM products, the Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing will be delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The two sedans will go on sale sometime in the first half of 2021, or roughly six months later than initially planned.
We’ll be sure to provide more info as we have it, and invite you to subscribe to GM Authority for the Cadillac CT4 news, Cadillac CT5 news, Cadillac news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Comments
GREAT name it after an engine they didnt want!!! GM management is a joke…
@Cadriver:
I’d love to read uour posts if Cadillac had managed to use the original CT6V engine. I can see it now:
” what??? 100 less HP??? GM management is a joke!”
Actually no I wouldn’t say that. The V cars should have the REAL Blackwing engine. I would like to see just how much more diminishment , mediocrity and cost cutting at Cadillac you will support before you come to your senses and admit that GM management is a joke…
What’s your solution?, Will it reverse the trend from sedans to SUVs?…..
Building Cadillac’s out of Chevy’s is the problem. Using the 6.2 SS over the blackwing is purely a cost cutting move.
What Alpha Chevy sedan is on sale?, For the 6.2 why use a heavier, unproven unit over a proven unit capable of making over 1000hp. A true BW engine CT5 probably would fail and we’ll still crying about it was a “super Chevy”.
I think saying that you are misinformed is putting it mildly. The Alpha platform was first used on the ATS and then the CTS. It is a proper rear-wheel drive platform, which is why it was applied to the current generation Camaro. Cadillac SUVs share platforms across GM brands which is something that is done at Toyota and Volkswagon. In fact, automakers are even sharing platforms across companies in “alliances” to cut costs. I also don’t think that the engines in these two cars will be used in any other GM product.
Using the blackwing would just copy every german sport sedan on the market. Using the V8 makes the caddy distinctly american. I do wish they used the LT2 or LT1 for the CT4. There is no dignity in the v6. I am pretty sure the ct5 will use the LT4 (I wish it used the 755hp LT5).
The Coronavirus will do that for us fortunately.
This is exactly the salty “GM BAD” comment I expected after they capitulate to armchair CEOs and start naming their stuff with nouns again.
Its the engine I wanted. The Supercharged 650. This one is a keeper..
Agreed, Sean. Sorry, but going from 640 hp to 550 hp would have always been a letdown. Everyone here is always criticizing Cadillac for chasing ze Germans, and I’ve always loved the LS/LT motors as a way to differentiate the brand from Germany’s best. Yeah, they’ll hang with and beat any sedan from Germany on the track, but they’ll do it with a classic American heart (and exhaust note). Plus, I’d much rather a used LT4 over a used Blackwing V8 down the line…maintenance costs for the LT will be FAR lower.
As far as the name goes, I couldn’t care less that they’re calling it “Blackwing” with no Blackwing engine in it. It’s not only a cool play back to Cadillac heritage and the old logos, but it also sounds really cool coming from the same country that produces monster sedans under the “Hellcat” banner. I can see Blackwing being for Cadillac what Hellcat is for Dodge, and I’m a fan of that. “CT5-V Blackwing” just sounds so good, stoic yet unchained.
See, Cadillac is using actual names again, like we’ve all been calling for!
Ya its good. I have a twin/bi turbo engine now, and for the past few years on different cars. People don’t know too much about it and want it just because its made by our friends from Germany. The linear acceleration the supercharger provides is a lot more fun to drive. When you drive a twin turbo you will realize what it is. Till then we are getting the supercharger!!!! Heyoooo…
Here’s an interesting link, mentioned below by ESM3Boy3. It shows a graph from GM for 2021 engine allocation, with the LT5 being put in a front-engine, RWD application. Since the ZR1 Corvette is dead, and we’ve had absolutely no Camaros running around testing anywhere, seems to me the LT5 could actually end up in one of two vehicles: either
1.) Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing
2.) Cadillac Escalade-V
Now, the LT5 could have been set for the Camaro Z28 that was being planned last year, but that program was killed in early July 2019, and this graph was leaked at the end of August 2019. Either way, if the LT5 was going into the Camaro for 2021, we would have likely seen some test mules of it (since 2021 models would go on sale at the end of 2020 or very early 2021), and never did. Since the Escalade-V is still several years off…it looks like the CT5-V Blackwing could actually get the LT5, we’ve seen plenty of mules for that!
So either GM was going to put the LT5 into the now-dead Camaro Z28, or the CT5-V Blackwing has the LT5. Very interesting…
https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=561239
Thanks for sharing. LT5 shows supercharged with 750 horses. That till be great. Keep the car for many years. It will be as fast as a Lamborghini!
LT5 – One can always dream
What an inspiring logo. /s
Heres the thing, if they actually used the Blackwing engine which we know they can’t because it doesn’t fit, people would have been completely upset if it was 100 hp less than the CTS-V which it appears it was going to be. So they keep the name which is fine and maybe even upgraded the power on both engines. I don’t think anyone is going to complain and just the fact they said it will have manual to few that will buy they are probably going to be very happy. i’m still hope they will make a new coupe.
Remember GM said the 3.6 would fit in the W bodies…… Till it did! They are using the 6.2 because it is cheaper. Thats it.
Bulls Eye. The Blackwing V8 is hand made and they cant upcharge enough to cover the cost of a hand made mill. They’re also so cheap they don’t want to pay the people extra to make them… or the extra cost to make that little name plate with builders name on it… GM is so pathetically cheap. EVERYTHING they do is by the cheapest execution. No where in GM’s line up, except the Vette (and build quality issues are starting to appear) is there a “wow, I got more for my money than anywhere else.”
IMO the BW is for large vehicle motivation in which you never see it in a car smaller than CT6. The BW is supposed to return in an future large vehicle, perhaps the Celestiq isn’t all electric..
I just DO NOT and Will Never understand how GM walked away from the V Series name that they spent 20 years on advertising for a whole new naming scheme that nobody besides us GM fans even understands. Makes Zero sense.
V Sport
V Series
Doesn’t get much easier than that really.
V series
V Blackwing
What’s difficult to understand? The naming suggests to me the Blackwing label is far more special.
@GMC Fan
It isn’t difficult for us GM fans to understand but it is for Conquest Buyers that Cadillac desperately needs.
GM spent 20 years of spending trying to get the V moniker up there with M, RS, and AMG and just wasted all that time with one dumb decision.
True, but BMW and Mercedes spent years getting the M and AMG monikers up there to world-class status, and then watered them down by sticking those badges on seemingly every goddamn crossover in their lineups.
These are still V cars, they’re just another level higher. I don’t mind it at all.
And you think a CLA 45 AMG is a real AMG car? What planet are you living on?
Because it didn’t make sense unless you follow GM like people here do. Vsport sounds faster than the plain V
Well, naming the V-Sport V-Lite (which it is) wouldn’t have made any more marketing sense then touting a nicely-named high-performance engine to spread it’s “cachet” to a series of vehicles that aren’t powered by it. Brilliant.
If ‘V-sport’ just had to go, they should have moved forward by combining ‘V’ with their new torque based numbering system. Instead of ‘V’ and ‘V Blackwing’, there would be ‘V-550T’ and ‘V-900S’. Or maybe even simplify it to V550 and V900. Blackwing just seems corny and forced, especially knowing that the engine itself wasn’t named Blackwing until just before it’s release.
Why bother with the CT5-V Blackwing when there are lightly used CTS-V’s around for $50-60K with the very same 640hp LT4?
Also, IMHO, the change in naming from V-sport and V, to V and V Blackwing is another China thing. Remember in China, “pretty good” plays just fine.
your logic applies to any car vs its new generation.. and also.. how do U know that the 640HP number is being retained? There was a rumor for a sec that the C8 was getting the same HP as the C7 before it debuted with 30 more ponies and way better traction on launch.. So much so it has me considering trading my 650HP Z06 in for a 495HP Z51. Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.. I’m joking on that one..
“Why bother with the CT5-V Blackwing when there are lightly used CTS-V’s around for $50-60K with the very same 640hp LT4?”
Because manual, that’s why.
Ok, so it will be available with “bolt action”, beyond that it’s a similar car, very similar Alpha platform, and essentially the same engine(regardless of what the advertised power is 640hp, 650hp??).
When the “talking” is over and it’s time “sign-up” , how many people are going to pay $80-85K+ for one, versus $55K for the lightly used CTS-V?? The answer…..not many.
Also, remember the Camaro ZL1 is an Alpha platform car, it’s got the LT4, available with a manual and…………….can be had lightly used for $45-50K now.
LFX, you seem to miss the point here. Plenty of people don’t want the Camaro ZL1 because they have zero utility, the interiors are outdated and you can’t see out of the damn thing. That’s why Cadillac has the V sedans, so you have some actual room with insane power. And beyond that, not only will the CT5-V Blackwing have a stick (which the CTS-V doesn’t), but the interior and especially the tech will be vastly improved. Considering it will cost less than the CTS-V ever did new, the manual tranny, utility, visibility, LOOKS, and tech advancements you so easily discount will get buyers.
What we have here is a super sedan with monstrous power that may very well be the last V8-powered, manual transmission sedan EVER BUILT…and you’re here complaining. That’s mind-boggling.
My point is…..it’s too much of the same again. With the actual “Blackwing” engine setting right there, it would have made for a new (very high tech) experience, especially if offered and tuned for use with a manual? Not to be.
New experience? There is nothing unique or special about the blackwing when compared to competitors. Using your logic why get a copycat AMG when you can buy an actual one?
To bad the CT5 is crippled by hideous styling.. a Honda Accord is better looking… the Mazda 6…. the CTS was great looking… and the CTS-V is a monster….
That’s your opinion, and has nothing to do with the objective benefits of the CT5-V Blackwing like 650 hp, RWD, a manual transmission, new tech, vastly improved interior quality, etc. So it’s not “too bad” anything, as if your personal opinion on how it looks somehow trumps everything I just said lol.
So, is that DOHC Blackwing motor eventually going to find its way in the C8? I think these vehicles are gorgeous and hope I live long enough to afford one. Until then I’m just praying for a performance oriented hot hatch b/c segment car. It would be beneficial for GM to remember that the auto industry is cyclical and at some point, I believe, the CUV bubble is going to burst. The question is, will they competitive offerings when that happens?
Sounds great. People complaining about the name have to realize blackwing isn’t some nameplate with 50+ Years of heritage, they came up with it less then 2 yrs ago and can do anything they want with it. It has virtually no brand value, stop pretending like it does. Ct5-v blackwing sounds way better then ct5-v+.
Even if the 4.2 fit I’d still want the 6.2. All the European brands have small displacement TT v8. That’s what made the ctsv cool in the first place. There’s nothing else like it.
Great comment. But while it was only created 2 yrs ago it was given to a special, hand made engine, VERY exclusive. So now the engine is dead but they want the name… for what? It means nothing… Better to have gone back to V-Sport and V which has 20 years worth of marketing and brand recognition. Now Cadillac markets the CT4-V/CT5-V Blackwing… with zero marketing or name recognition. The only thing recognizable here is V…
That said this was a very promising article on the CT5-V https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/32169/2020-cadillac-ct5-v-review-nailing-luxury-performance
Calling it black wing when you didn’t change the engine from the old V. I think if you had a whole new engine at least you could lean on that. They should of left the black wing to the actual engine that was named that. It’s so weird, goes to show you that they don’t know what there doing
On what planet did the “V” have marketing and name recognition. It only had that among the enthusiast community, not the broader car-buying public. I’ve only seen a handful of V cars on the road in my entire lifetime. AMG and M cars are all over the place.
While it would be so much more meaningful for these two upcoming Caddy super-sedans to actually have a variant of the Blackwing V8 to go along with the name, I’m fine with what they’re delivering! A supercharged 6.2L V8 and manual sounds WAY better than another plebeian crossover/SUV! And should provide plenty of power and performance to take on Ze Germans!
Time for the driving enthusiasts to put their money where their mouths are!! We’d better scoop these up while we can!!
While I am in the camp that the CT4-V and CT5-V just doesn’t seem right, I will say that the new naming scheme makes more sense than the old one and is less confusing than the old scheme for the average (non enthusiast) Joe. If you tell someone not in the know that these was a CTS V and a CTS V Sport they would probably think the V was a base performance model and the V Sport was a sportier version of the CTS V.
Great comment, but I think most folks would just say they have a CT5-V not CT5-V Sport… which would also push the V brand… Blackwing IMO dilutes the very respected V brand placing what is appreciated into second place… Blackwing is meaningless and empty without the hand made Blackwing V8. Its like calling an apple pie a cherry pie… it isn’t… more confusion at GM and Cadillac… simply pathetic…
Well said.
Blackwing is not an established name. If anything, it represents what could have been. It doesn’t make sense to water down the V name just to replace it with a dead concept. It’s a waste of resources to add the nameplate as well as the “torque” number. It’s not a good strategy. I’m hoping the cars will succeed despite the smoke GM is blowing.
I agree with a great deal of people on here who have said that, outside of auto enthusiasts.. most people I have encountered thru the years no in the know.. never had a clue that the VSERIES I owned with 640HP was more powerful than the 430HP VSPORT. I even remember a few cats asking me if the “V” meant it was the “V 16” they had heard was so ostentatious. I have owned an ’09 CTS-V Sedan, a ’12 CTS-V Coupe, a ’16 CTS-V Sedan, and now a ’20 CT6-V.. and have zero issue with them using the “V” name on the CT5 3.0LTT and CT4 V 2.7TT. I also think its brilliant them using the somehow, in a very limited time, legendary BlackWing motor that resides in my engine bay’s name to launch a new generation of Super Powered Caddys.
I’m jealous of your current stable and previous stable, you’re a lucky man… my wife is a CPA so I’m still waiting for mine, but I am starting to look… that said, I disagree on using Blackwing, as its completely meaningless… Its like calling it the CT5-V Iron Duke from the 4 cyl in the 70’s, or even the CT5-V NorthStar. Its not an Iron Duke or a NorthStar so why name it as such?
Guys,
Any word if it will be a digital dash? There is no way i am buying analog dials that are on the Vs now.
Will we consider OLED screens in this car? We have an extra year due to COVID to modify the cars.
I love the v-cars from Cadillac, but as with many people on here i am confused as to why they use the Blackwing name on vehicles that have nothing to do with the Blackwing engine. Why name you car after a dead engine.
Well, it does not matter since the Blackwing used in the CT6 Platinum and CT6-V was the top engine for Cadillac. The V Blackwing is top performance for Cadillac Vs.
Its meaningless and irrelevant. If a customer who does’nt know asks a dealer, “whats Blackwing” and its explained to them… I highly suspect the customer will wonder why they named something after an engine it doesn’t have, that lasted less than one year, that died with another platform that was tossed on the trash heap. The key here is the BW won’t fit in these cars AND its hand made and to expensive to make… and GM is pathetically CHEAP!
Regardless, Blackwing has a hip name to it. I rather have a hip name instead of VR behind the CT5 V. CT5-VR? Seriously?
lifelongGMmoaner, is that you? God, are you a negative person…
Funny how Cadillac can’t do anything to satisfy anyone without getting called out based on what they did in the past for a brief or long time.
When AMG used, S for ultimate AMG as “AMG S”, few years back, I wonder how many people criticized Mercedes for that.
The V series is the segment benchmarks yet people complain about the sub-monitor of the V brand. Just crazy.
Are you sure no one complained? The added monikers are a waist of money. That’s a fact.
Difference is that the top dog AMGs up to that time didn’t end up being defanged, detuned and depowered – wait is that a word? – to make room for the S level.
Cadillac on the other hand mucked up the V series and its legacy with juggling around its application and reducing power. And the blackwing moniker on a vehicle that isn’t powered by such a noted engine is a head scratcher.
And then people wonder why Cadillac is picked apart and critiqued.
Yes, Gary has it… but to be frank, Mercedes has their $hi! together and can make ‘logical” changes… GM has screwed Cadillac up so bad literally no one has a clue where its going. With the investment and time its so incredibly clear the people running GM and Cadillac are lost and the brand is in serious trouble, because of bad management. Mary Barra has done nothing during her tenure and needs to be fired!!
+100
Naming must only be relevant to the GM product planners — CTS, ATS, V, V sport, blackwing, CT4, CT5, and those awful torque ratings are all a needless jumble. Can you imagine that people get paid to come up with this utter confusion and find ways to justify it?
What matters is whether GM can deliver the goods on these cars. A manual transmission puts a smile on my face and faster lap times than the predecessors are a good start!
WOW!!!!! So much bally-who, over a Cadillac name. What real muscle heads should be bitchin’ about, is the cost of all this H.P. AND it’s NOT in a CHEVY!!!!!!! The “Old days” are gone forever. Now it just seems, the more money it costs, everybody’s gonna love it. Stupid. No way in God’s creation, should these things cost what they do. AND it’s a 4door! I know, I’m an old fart. But I AM old enough to remember when H.P. was a lot easier AND cheaper. Just sayi’
GM has too many sub brands: Avenir, Blackwing, Hummer, Delani.
Instead of rebuilding Cadillac as a aspirational brand now we have Blackwing as a stand in. Blackwing seems like far more than a trim level.
You know what? This is totally fine by me. If there’s no such thing as a Blackwing engine anymore, they might as well use the name. It sounds cool and along with the manuals it will be good for Cadillac.
I won’t get my hope’s up to high because these V’s are probably a year or more away from hitting the street. I will stay my soon to be delivered ATS-V.
I won’t get my hope’s up to high because these V’s are probably a year or more away from hitting the street. I will stay with my soon to be delivered ATS-V.
Doesn’t matter what they call it. Ya can’t fix ugly which is exactly what this car is..
It’s obvious that Cadillac is the most screwed up division within General Motors as GM VP Steve Carlisle who’s in charge of Cadillac doesn’t really know or understand what is going on; thus, you’ve got to point the finger at General Motors Master Screw Up Mary Barra as she allowed Cadillac to spend tens of millions to develop and manufacture the Blackwing V8 only to discover that almost none of their production vehicles are big enough to shoehorn the Blackwing V8 which means Blackwing will be used as a name for the next few years as a reminder of the big screw-up until the fleet goes electric which may be difficult to sell if the price of oil remains under $20 a barrel which translates to $1.00 per gallon gas.