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Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing’s 6.2L V8 LT4 Will Be Hand-Built By One Person

The upcoming 2022 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing luxury super sedan will be fitted with GM’s supercharged 6.2L V8 LT4 gasoline engine – and owners will be reminded who built it every time they lift the car’s hood.

Units of the LT4 destined for the CT5-V Blackwing will be assembled by a single operator at the Performance Build Center (PBC) at the GM Bowling Green plant in Kentucky. The PBC previously assembled the LT4 for the third-gen CTS-V and Corvette C7 Z06, while the broader Bowling Green campus is also home to the Chevy Corvette.

“Before, it was a higher-volume engine, but now it’s a single builder that builds the whole engine, and when they’re done, they’ll use a plaque with his or her name,” Mirza Grebovic, Blackwing Chief Engineer, told GM Authority executive editor Alex Luft in a recent interview. “We machined a little spot on the supercharger lid where s/he can put it on. Every customer will be able to see who built their LT4 engine.”

While uncommon, the practice is not unheard of. For example, owners of Mercedes-AMG performance models also know who built their engines via similar plaques.

The LT4 V8 is part of the fifth-generation GM Small Block engine family. It has previously been used in the third-generation Cadillac CTS-V sedan, the Chevy Corvette C7 Z06, and the Chevy Camaro ZL1. It’s also expected to make an appearance in the upcoming Cadillac Escalade-V high-performance full-size luxury SUV. In the CT5-V Blackwing, it will be more powerful than ever before, producing 668 horsepower and 659 pound-feet of torque.

This will give the car a 0-60 mph time of 3.7 seconds and a top speed of around 200 mph. It also means that the CT5-V Blackwing will be the most powerful model that Cadillac has ever produced.

The CT5-V Blackwing will be priced to start at $84,990, but customers can spend up to $121,895 by specifying all the available options. These include GM’s 10-speed automatic transmission to replace the standard six-speed manual supplied by Tremec, a carbon fiber aero package and a Brembo carbon ceramic brake package.

Like its smaller sister model, the 2022 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing, the CT5-V BW will not be available with all-wheel-drive and will not carry Blackwing badging.

Be sure to subscribe to GM Authority for more Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing news, Cadillac Blackwing news, Cadillac news and 24/7 GM news coverage.

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David has been writing about motoring and motorsport since he was 13 and racing since he was 19. He is British, and therefore apologizes for taking up too much of your time.

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Comments

  1. i’m sure the jonas brothers are very impressed by this. well done gm.

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  2. I’ve never seen a CT4 or CT5 on the road, since they were launched… this won’t move that needle..

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    1. I’ve seen two CT5’s and one CT4 all V models here in Richmond, Va. Looks a lot better in 3d than in pics.

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    2. Seen plenty here in German brand heavy D.M.V. Both regular and V versions.

      Reply
  3. I don’t think a human assembling an engine is a positive. You’re suspectable to human error which is crucial when it’s an engine. I prefer a machine/robot to do the most possible building it. More precise, consistent which in the long run makes for a more reliable product.

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    1. Depends. The major issue is robots have difficulty in certain operations, particularly those with screws. Look at a Volkswagen or other German car: they use 6 plastic pieces that snap together instead of two screws or a cable. People complain about German Rube Goldberg engineering, but it’s all to deal with constraints of robots.

      The second issue is that machines have limited sensing, unlike a human. If parts don’t slide in smoothly, there’s a burr, or the finish is bad on something, a human can easily feel this and reject, if they so care. Robots can’t. They rigidly smash part A into B.

      In general, the Japanese have the least amount of automation, Europeans the most.

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    2. My problem is it’s a hi-po motor assembled by one guy, all this tech today and GM has one hand assembly engine guy for this car?. What’s next? lung-blown glass for windows?.

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      1. It’s common for one person to build a high dollar race engine. Do you think Formula One has robots assembling engines?

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        1. That’s an racing engine, not a mass production car. You don’t hear this with the Hellcat engine variants nor F/I Coyote variants.

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    3. Robots are used on a very limited basis when it comes to Engine and Transmission assy. Humans still do most of the work.

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  4. My Son will be building these engines. He’s at the Performance Center, engine assembly, Bowling Green.

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    1. The PBC was previously at a separate facility in Wixom, MI. Not only did they build LS3, LS7 and LS9’s there, at one time you could go there and help assemble the engine that would go in your own car! it was limited to LS7 for Z06 and LS9 for ZR1 but a unique experience for sure.

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  5. WHY MUST they GM it up with the crappy cheap plastic engine cover???? Does anyone know Who made the stupid decision to cover the front of this beautiful engine with that cheap peace of garbage?????? They need to be cut loose so the can put there talents to work in garbage can factory!

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    1. Because its not the real blackwing engine, that one looks like a beauty under the hood

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  6. You can probably change it or paint it…but agreed why the cheap engine cover while the Corvette gets fancy red valve covers…and this is nothing new even C5 vetts had nice engine covers…to be honest underneath the cover to there is nothing to look at… I’ve got it make carbon fiber!

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    1. Apparently many here like cheap ugly plastic engine covers over something truly beautiful to look at.

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  7. Robert, what does he know about future Vettes. Just kidding. That is cool that he is building the new motors

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  8. I’m surprised the UAW allows the builders name of anything on anything (no disrespect to previous commenters son)…that implies accountability.

    Just think of all the UAW GM employees that would be in witness protection if they had signed all the Northstar V-8s.

    Happy motoring!

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  9. Are pen names allowed? I live in Kentucky and some of us go by names like “booger O’donald.” Cause that’s exactly what I I’m sure everyone wants when they are smoking a Ferrari on the course

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  10. It doesn’t have a Blackwing engine so why are they calling it the blackwing? It’s a 100grand plus caddy with a blown pushrod smallblock. More gM half-assedness, that is amplified by the fact they actually have a modern engine called the Blackwing they could have bragged about, instead of this bean counter slight of hand. That motor is a 30 grand piece of kit with old tech on a supposed world leading car, is the rest of that car worth 80 or so grand?

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    1. Paul do you remember what happened last time Cadillac had its own engines? The North star V8 tanked big time! I think GM is being cautious this time around. Besides Blackwing sounds awesome…much better then some Coyote! LoL 🤣

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    2. plus the ct6v blackwing engine looks like a masterpiece under the hood. This one dosen’t.

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  11. I am not a fan of covering up a beautiful American V-8, but I will say that the cover over the engine on My 2013 CTSV is a good looking piece of plastic, not as gorgeous as a 427 big block with 2 fours, but still good.

    Reply

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