GM Authority will be driving the 2022 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing over the next several days, allowing us to learn more about Cadillac’s new performance sedan.
As we already know, the Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing launched for the 2022 model year as the range-topping performance variant of the CT4 family. Power comes from GM’s twin-turbocharged 3.6L V6 LF4 gasoline engine, which produces 472 horsepower and 445 pound-feet of torque. All that muscle is sent exclusively to the rear axle by way of either a six-speed manual transmission or the GM 10-speed automatic transmission.
Our tester came equipped with the former of those two transmission options. While it would have been nice to see how the GM 10-speed performs when paired with the LF4 V6, it’s hard to complain about a modern-day vehicle with a manual transmission, rear-wheel drive and nearly 500 horsepower on tap. Our tester is finished in the head-turning Electric Blue exterior color, which costs an extra $600 to equip, as well as the Natural Tan with Jet Black Accents interior colorway.
The car is also dressed in the Carbon Fiber 1 Package, which adds various exterior aerodynamic features to give the super sedan more downforce and, in turn, more grip. The $4,100 package includes a carbon fiber front splitter, front-wheel well deflectors, front dive planes and a rear extra aero rear spoiler.
This example also features the optional Technology Package ($725), Climate Package ($600) and the Performance Data and Video Recorder ($1,600). The MSRP is $72,790 with $995 destination freight charge and $12,800 in optional extras.
Wheel buffs should know that the rollers on this model are the 18-inch alloys with a Polished/Dark Android finish (RPO code R38). These are the standard wheels for the 2022 CT4-V Blackwing, though two other choices are available.
With all that in mind, it’s time for us to ask – what do you want to know about the 2022 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing? Post your questions in the comments below, and we’ll reply with a detailed answer as soon as possible.
Ready, set, go!
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Comments
Electric Blue paint – stunning!
The car is already a looker in any color, but this hue makes it pop even more. It catches glances on the road and in the parking lot.
That said, the significant others of a few friends already informed me that they would not appreciate a color this brazen.
So Alex, working on paperwork to trade that ATS in on a Blakceing?
Where does it most exceed your expectations and what’s the biggest letdown of this model.
Well, I ended up trading in the ATS on a C7 Grand Sport (manual, of course).
The general appearance and finish of the interior exceeds my expectations, with Cadillac having fixed almost everything that was “wrong” with the ATS’ interior. Unfortunately in doing so, Cadillac also broke several things over the ATS:
1. The junction of the dash/center console where the driver would rest their right leg/knee during driving is rock hard in all CT4 models. It looks good, but it gets uncomfortable very, very quickly.
2. The armrest on the driver’s side door is noticeably higher than the armrest on the center console, resulting in a somewhat “crooked” seating position.
These are my two major gripes. Another minor one is the steering wheel. While the sport steering wheel this unit is equipped with is pretty while also being meaty (thicker than the regular ones), it doesn’t fit with the character of the car at all. The CT4-V Blackwing should have had a flat-bottom steering wheel at the least and the square wheel from the C8 at the most. The current wheel does not match the character of this car at all… it’s as if a sports car has the steering wheel of a truck.
Cadillac also did away with the center pass-through in the rear seats, preventing me from keeping the rear seats upright when loading longer gear (like my hockey sticks) into the trunk:
https://gmauthority.com/blog/2021/01/cadillac-sedans-do-away-with-rear-seat-passthroughs/
So now, every time I have to go to play hockey, the max passenger carrying capacity of the car drops to three (since part of the rear seat needs to fold flat). This wasn’t the case with the pass-through offered on the ATS, which enabled me to carry four people in the car.
Other than that, this car is great. Drives great, looks great, sounds great. But I personally would not buy it until items 1 and 2 above are addressed.
Hey Alex, regarding item #2 the center console is lower than the door armrest to provide additional right arm clearance for shifting that 6-speed during spirited driving. Best wishes!
Ken – thanks for that. It certainly makes sense, though the seating position becomes a bit awkward when one is not shifting… like during highway driving. An height-adjustable armrest would have been appreciated.
How’s the clutch operation, and the shift feel (notchy, or crisp-shifting)? Do the seats do their job holding you in place when cornering? This can also be applied to the CT-5 Blackwing whenever it is tested.
Clutch operation is spot on. Can’t say enough good things about it. I’m afraid I like it better than that on my C7 Grand Sport.
The same goes for the shifting. This transmission and patterns is a dream and quite close to perfection. One small gripe is getting into third or fifth gear quickly from second or fourth, respectively. I hit the gate a bit too frequently on those upshifts, but this might be user error on my end. I’ll probably get used to it one of these days.
Seats do a great job of holding me in place and I love the adjustable bolsters.
Update: over the last couple of days, I’ve noticed that an “open palm” technique is best when shifting from second to third and from fourth to fifth.
Any noticeable turbo lag?
There might be, but it’s very difficult to notice. Will get back to you on this in a day or so after I have more seat time.
I will also say that the exhaust is awesome. Sounds great… a bit more throaty than the ATS-V.
Update: there is some turbo lag, but it’s not significant. That said, power does come on stronger starting around 2K-2.5K in the RPM band.
Does it make you wish you had a CT5-V Blackwing?
It makes me wish I had an extra $35k to buy the CT5-V Blackwing.
I’m sure it gets attention with that not so subtle blue. But is the attention it’s getting envy or ridicule ??
It’s Miami, so it fits right in. Therefore, envy.
The car just looks good, plain and simple, and the carbon fiber 1 package makes it look even better. Problem is that, without a front camera, that carbon fiber front splitter will be very difficult not to damage.
No option for a 360 camera? Is that only available on the CT5?
Surround View is optional on the CT4 and is available in conjunction with Super Cruise.
It seems the ATS-V was a little faster than CT4 BW, what’s your opinion on it?.
I can’t speak to the manual, but I owned a 2016 ATS-V and now a 2022 CT4 BW and the big difference which makes the BW feel faster is the updated transmission. The A8 in the ATS-V was very clunky and often times was confused about which gear to be in, especially on downshifts. The A10 in the BW is so much smoother and much quicker changing gears. The A10 always feels like its in the correct gear and the pops and crackles on the downshifts are completely new on the BW. Overall the BW just feels more refined in every way and more aggressive at the same time with the improved exhaust note. Almost all the negatives about the ATS-V were addressed. The interior, confused and clunky transmission, wastegate rattle from turbos, awful exhaust note were all fixed in the BW. My only gripe was I wished Cadillac pushed the HP over 500, but other than that its a amazing car and even better value. I highly recommend this car.
18×10 thru 11 wheels fit and in what offsets? Ditto 19″
Any stupid 1-4th gear lockout like GM does on C7 and Camaro?
I was able to fit the optional 235/35-19 fronts and 275/30-19 rears on my 2015 ATS with no issues whatsoever and no modification. I’l try to hunt something down for you on the offsets, but am not promising anything.
There is no 1-4 lockout at all on the CT4-V BW.
Is it really a daily driver candidate, or is it overkill?
I don’t think it’s overkill at all. To the contrary, I think it’s quite a perfect daily driver – agile, refined, and luxurious (except for the knee rest situation mentioned above),… it’s quite the perfect dance partner, much more so than say a Corvette.
I have a VSport. Second to none! The TT V-6 is exceptional. Would probably go for the CT4-Blacking but would not need some of the upcharge items. Almost 80 so the 6 Spd looks fun but for being the primary car might be pushing it. Would go for the CT5 Blackwing but my old Corvette mostly makes up for the small-block addiction. Not fond of a lot of the new colors. I think the designers are trying too hard to come up with something new and some of them frankly suck. Mostly the Black on flat black on dirty gray on yuck and thinking its cool. In 5 years people will think we had a problem with paint like computer chips and a lot of the cars came with primer only, ha!
How is headlamp illumination at night? Is it better than the ATS-V or the same? The same question for the ’22 Corvette as well if you are still taking questions on that thread.
The LED headlamps do a great job at illuminating the road at night and are better than the units on the ATS-V. The light is not only brighter, but also have more of that modern “white” light to them than the HID units in the ATS.
PS: replied to your question in the Corvette thread:
https://gmauthority.com/blog/2021/12/were-driving-the-2022-cadillac-ct4-v-blackwing-what-do-you-want-to-know/#comment-1405761
I have a 19 ats v and the 8 speed auto is outstanding. It always selects the right gear quickly. The older ats v transmission software was probably refined / updated in later models. As far as the ct4 blacking 10 speed , I read several reviews where they say it hunts for the right gear too slowly and that 10 gears is overkill. Any issues with wastegate rattles was addressed by a tsb. And concerning the pops & crackles from the exhaust , you can keep that. My exhaust to me sounds aggressive enough. I wouldn’t change a thing on the ats v. Now don’t get me started on the rear end styling of the ct4 (hideous) !
10-speed: I have yet to drive the CT4-V Blackwing with the 10-speed auto, so can’t comment on that configuration.
Exhaust: as a former owner of two ATS models (ATS 2.0T manual and ATS-V), I’m a fan of the exhaust on the CT4-V Blackwing. It sounds a bit more refined… it’s also quieter with the flaps closed and more aggressive with the flaps opened than that of the ATS-V.
Styling: styling is subjective, of course, but I’m very much a fan of the CT4-V Blackwing’s design. It’s certainly not the same as the ATS line, but it is very attractive. No matter which angle I’m looking at, I always like what I see. The car gets attention like crazy out and about, too.
Headroom seems like it might be an issue for taller drivers. I’m 6’1” and have a CT4 BW on order (build date this week). The dealer allowed me to sit in another customer’s car. I didn’t get to play with the seat adjustments, but my head bumped the ceiling when I was looking around. Do you have adequate headroom? I didn’t notice the armrest height differences you mentioned in another post, but I’ll check that out. Thanks for starting this thread.
For me, headroom was just fine – but I’m not as tall as you (5’9).
A a friend of mine is 6’3 and has a regular CT4 that hit fits into with no issues in terms of headroom or legroom. His seat is pushed all the way back in the CT4. As a result, no one will be able to sit behind him.
I can relate to the headroom, I’m 6’3’ and the seat doesn’t have to be all the way back, but there’s no room in the back, but my briefcase fits. Recently my remotes features changed. The car no longer allows me to push the button on the door to open the door. It needs to have me use the remote. It’s the same with either remote. I feel like I turned off a feature or something. Any advice?