The concept of a luxurious sports sedan feels like a uniquely American concept, which is why it’s so strange that Americans ceded this ground to European brands for so long. While one could order a big engine in a Galaxie 500 or four-door Impala, the most extreme versions of those cars were all coupes. With the fuel crisis came diminished horsepower, which seemed to close a door that wasn’t ever going to be open again.
This isn’t to say that American automakers didn’t try from time to time. It’s just that the results were not of a world-beating flavor. Does a Mercury Marauder stand up to an E39 M5? Not quite. Nor does a Bonneville SSEi quite match an Audi RS4.
General Motors was the first to overcome a nearly 40-year drought with the first iteration of the Cadillac CTS-V (I’ll also accept the G8 GXP, though it being Australian only proves my point). The CTS-V has improved with each iteration, both in terms of power and refinement. While I haven’t driven every single sports sedan currently for sale in the world, the CT5-V Blackwing looks great on paper. Driving cars on paper sucks, generally, as paper is not a forgiving surface for tires.
I was given the opportunity to drive a new Blackwing on an actual road, right before the vehicle left the fleet. I had no sorts of plans that would make this smart or feasible, but getting asked if you want access to a 668 horsepower car is a lot like an inquiry about your status as a deity, in that the only reasonable answer is the affirmative.
[Full disclosure: I tested this Blackwing because they said I could have one, so I drove it for a week and it was awesome.]
The Basics
Engine: 6.2-liter supercharged V8.
Transmission: 10-speed conventional automatic.
Drive: Rear-wheel drive.
Output: 668 horsepower at 6,500 RPM, 659 lb.-ft. at 3,600 RPM.
Curb Weight: 4,142 pounds (1,879 kg).
Fuel Economy: 13 MPG city, 20 MPG highway, 15 MPG combined.
Fuel Grade: Premium 91-octane.
Base Price: $98,900
Price As-Tested: $150,365 including freight
Why Does It Exist?
Sedans are growing slowly in popularity, though those are mostly affordable ones. Luxury cars are still a big business, if by “cars” you mean “crossovers and SUVs.” Cadillac was supposed to be the tip of GM’s Zero-Zero-Zero spear, meaning that electric cars were going to become more important than gas-powered ones.
Against the backdrop of all the confusing and terrible events automakers have had to face the last few years, a big supercharged V8 sedan should be exactly the last vehicle given any sort of attention. Even the name “Blackwing” derives from an extremely low-volume V8 developed and then unceremoniously canceled by GM. It’s remarkable, then, that driving it makes you wonder if there were any engineers at GM working on anything else.
It’s possible that one day life will be very different from the one we know. It’ll hopefully be an improved world, though humanity’s progress is neither linear nor evenly distributed. For gearheads, a CT5-V Blackwing might represent the pinnacle of certain sort of existence.
How Does It Look?
Even in a muted “Drift” blue, the CT5-V does that sports sedan trick of blending in for a moment then raising the hairs on your arms and neck. In driving it around, I didn’t get a lot of head-snapping from normies. Only the real heads noticed it.
The way I look at it is like the film They Live, in which Rowdy Roddy Piper puts on sunglasses and sees aliens everywhere. Regular people just see a nice car, gearheads see something far more exciting and maybe just a little sinister.
American automakers aren’t often purveyors of subtlety in the way of a British Q-Ship, but Cadillac has managed to push all of the Blackwing’s performance cues forward without screaming to the world “I WILL KILL YOU IF YOU LOOK AT ME WRONG.” Even the front splitter tonguing out doesn’t seem to raise too much attention from local law enforcement.
The nose is certainly busy, with numerous folded-paper creases and a dizzying variety of patterns and textures. There’s a Dan Flashes-ness to most snouts on luxury cars these days, so an animated proboscis is not so much a detriment as a requirement.
It works as a cohesive design for me, and in profile I don’t think there’s a better modern American luxury car.
What’s It Like On The Inside?
The CTS-V’s interior is well matched to the car, though it definitely falls into the category of “not for me” at first glance. There’s something slightly Val Kilmer (RIP) nipple Batman about the muscular padding on the seats. You don’t have to look at the seats while you sit in them, and sitting in them brings the realization that these chairs are both exceedingly comfortable and totally necessary to keep you in place while driving a car that can transform from lamb to lion with approximately 2.4 inches of pedal travel.
The rest of the cabin is extremely GM of this era, though offset by carbon fiber touches.
It all feels nice enough, and given how excellent the car is to drive, you could tape up sheets of felt and give me a milk crate to sit on, and it would be hard for me to complain.
How Does It Drive?
You know what the scary part about this car is? I’ve tracked a CTS-V before (I was on the CTS-V wagon launch at Laguna Seca), and I’m not sure that even in a track setting I got to experience 100% of the car. It’s like high-fiving Superman, in that if Superman gave you his full strength, your hand would separate from your body at the speed of sound and they’d find your thumb wedged into the wall of the Corn Palace in South Dakota.
Driving around suburban New York, approaching the limits of traction or speed would result in either me going to prison or being reunited with the Lord. Most of my attempts to enjoy the car as it was meant to be enjoyed involved speeding up on-ramps, around my favorite turns on the few limited-access streets we have, and charging up a few expressways.
It was sublime. This particular Blackwing was fitted with the “Precision Package” that Thomas wrote about:
Let’s start with the most important part of staying out for lap after lap — brakes. While pad compound largely determines friction, heat capacity usually determines how long a session is. So, Cadillac’s ditched iron discs in favor of some carbon ceramic hotness. We’re talking 400 mm by 38 mm front discs, 370 mm by 34 mm rear discs, and brand new rear calipers compared to CT5-V Blackwings with iron discs. Brakes out of the way, let’s move on to suspension, where it seems like Cadillac has been concentrating heavily on the front axle of the CT5-V Blackwing Precision Package. Stiffer front springs by the tune of 70 percent complement a 0.9 mm-thicker, 11 percent stiffer front anti-roll bar and stiffer bushings with the goal of a sharper front end, better feel, and yes, faster lap times.
Not stopping at tweaking spring and anti-roll bar rates, Cadillac has changed the actual suspension geometry using new steering knuckles in the front and new toe arms at the back. Since the CT5-V Blackwing uses MacPherson struts up front, a new knuckle design is a sturdy way to add negative camber without altering the strut hats or divorced lower control arms. We’re talking 2.8 degrees of negative front camber, which is huge for a MacPherson Strut setup. Out back, the new rear toe arms dial in two degrees of negative camber, although like some trick speed parts of the past, these toe links come in a trunk kit and need to be installed after the car rolls out of the factory.
During the pandemic, I was out filming a documentary and had to travel while much of the world was still locking down, and this ended up in a bureaucratic conundrum that involved me having to borrow a car to drive from New York to Michigan the day after Cannonballing from Florida to Manhattan in a Pacifica. The car I borrowed was an E46 M3 that had recently undergone a suspension refresh and retuning. It’s one of the best suspensions I’ve ever experienced (and I own an E39 BMW).
This felt nearly that good. Yeah, it’s big and relatively heavy, and requires trick magnetorheological dampers to make everything work in harmony, but the result is a car that’s calm in everyday driving, then poised but aggressive when pushed at all. I get why people buy these. I understand why so many members and readers bring these to our meets. It’s just that good. It’ll also throw ass whenever you want to hustle it down the road.
It’s selling the car short to just blast it down the highway from a dead stop. This car can do so much more. However, if you get the chance to do so safely and legally, doing so results in wheelspin in at least three of the first ten gears.
Oh, right, gears. The only car available was the automatic. I’m sure the manual is better, like everyone says, because manuals are almost always better. I found the automatic completely up to the task of transferring all that supercharged power to the ground. If someone wants to lend me a manual, I’m happy to compare.
No one in my garage complained, though a few dogs at the valet stand did cower when the 6.2-liter V8 roared to life. It’s got bite and, if you choose the loudest exhaust setting, it has a teeth-bared bark to match.
Here’s What The Automatic Gets You
I’m on the record as stating that GM’s SAE Level Two Super Cruise driving assistance is the best version I’ve experienced, even as competitors have started to catch up. Tesla’s FSD will let you do more, if you’re willing to put your life, your loved ones, and your community into a massive beta test.
While I have recently tested Tesla’s FSD, and what it can do is impressive, it’s too susceptible to edge cases for my risk tolerance. The accuracy of Super Cruise is high and, just as importantly, it’s the best at communicating what it can and can’t do, with a smooth handoff to the driver when it doesn’t quite think it can handle the current situation.
There’s obviously some sort of technological reason why you can’t have Super Cruise with the manual, and if this was just a fun car, I’d probably skip it. If this is something you drive on the highway for long distances, I’d say it might be worth it to opt for the automatic.
Three Things To Know About The 2026 CTS-V Blackwing
- It comes with the PDR like a Corvette so you can record your laps.
- It has a little holder for your phone that’s quite clever.
- This interior is Jet Black, which I like to think is named after the character from Cowboy Bebop.
What’s The Punctum Of The 2026 CT5-V Blackwing?
AMG and M were the ones to carry the torch for performance sedans, and the influence can be seen on the little badge that tells you who handcrafted your V8 (thanks Brandon, btw, you did a great job!). This has meant that the CTS-V has been judged by how well it lives up to those cars. No more. The Germans need to now prove to me they can make something as good as what Cadillac did with this car.
Top photo: Author
Should’ve been AWD.
No