PRODUCTION LINE

BRUTE IN A SUIT

DRIVEN: 2022 CADILLAC CT5V BLACKWING

Cadillac’s 2022 CT5-V Blackwing is as track-ready as any street-legal, leather-lined, ve-passenger sedan can be. Consider: There’s a supercharged, all-aluminum 6.2-liter (376-cu.in.) V-8 rated at 668 horsepower and 659 pound-feet of torque under the hood. Both values are Cadillac records from an engine that, as any work of art should be, has been autographed by its builder. (Thank you, Kathy Walker.)

A 1.7-liter four-lobe Eaton blower helps deliver instant response and gives a baseline hum to the eight-piece rhythm section beneath. Titanium intake valves are stuffed into Rotocast A356T6 aluminum heads to better handle heat. There’s a standard, cooled six-speed Tremec gearbox (with selectable rev-matched downshifting) that feels mechanically precise, with eagerly short throws. The no-lift-shift feature means you can keep the gas matted while you change gears. An electronic limited-slip differential gets an aluminum housing and has a separate cooler, to keep up with whatever you throw at it. Magnetic Ride Control 4.0 can be dialed in for cornering prowess or supple freeway comfort.

What does this all mean? A 0-60 time in the mid-3s, with quarter-mile times in the mid-11s—no slicks necessary. The biggest-ever brakes installed on a Cadillac—15.67-inch rotors in front, 14.7-inch in back. Specially developed 19-inch, 35-series Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber in staggered widths (275 mm front, 305 mm rear). A 200-mph top speed, not that we would ever approach it on a public road (cough). At under 4,200 pounds at the curb, that’s 6.25 pounds per horsepower, in a smaller footprint than a ’64 Pontiac GTO.

It’s not all about speed, though—the CT5V Blackwing offers tactility in abundance. The fat steering wheel that yields instant turn-in with a modicum of weighted resistance; the toe-touch Brembo binders; the 3D-printed shift knob topper that’s both textured and cool to the touch; the seats that will massage plus heat and/or cool your posterior. We piled 1,300 miles on in the week we had this Electric Blue six-speed example in our hands; the biggest downside was the $7-a-gallon gas we encountered around San Diego the weekend we had it out there. We saw 0-60 times right at the 4-second mark, and at a steady cruise around 80 mph, we managed to see better than 26 mpg (well north of its 21 mpg EPA highway rating), with neither wind nor engine noise intruding into the cabin. At freeway speeds with the cruise control on and the sixteen-speaker AKG audio system pumping the tunes, you could almost wonder what all the fuss is about. Until you mash the gas and, even in doubleoverdrive sixth, you tickle triple digits in less time than it takes to tell. In bends, you can’t even sense if the ve-link rear suspension is working hard—it just sticks and lets the ample power hurtle you forth via the rear wheels. Some tiny things took away from the luxury experience that should still be part and parcel of Cadillac ownership. Rev-matching needs to be set-it-and-forget-it, same with the gauge display that shows the more-prominent tach, accessible from the V-button on the steering wheel. Wireless phone charging is hit-or-miss. The trunk isn’t self-sealing, requiring an undigni ed slam to close. The white stitching atop the dark leather dash top bounces off the windshield distractingly. The seats are the same as those in the CT4V Blackwing, and while the heating, cooling, massaging, and quilting all feel terri c, the lack of adjustable headrests put the cushion right between the shoulder blades of your too-tall-torso tester. (Normally proportioned people will be okay.)

Our niggles aside, the CT5-V Blackwing is the master daddy of all GM sedans—and likely not a few European ones as well. Whatever electri ed V-series machine comes after this will have an awful lot to live up to.

A base CT5-V Blackwing starts at a Hamilton shy of 85 large, including shipping. Our tester featured $19,450 in options (none of which we felt necessary, frankly), for an out-the-door price of $104,440.