Yahoo Autos The 2022 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing Is an Instant Classic
The climbing esses at Virginia International Raceway are chancey in the best way. You gather quite a bit of speed on the short runup, and the quick way through involves turning in early and aiming for the curb on the left hand side, then hitting the next three curbs on the way up. And be prepared—these curbs are gnarly, almost as if they’re designed to rattle loose parts off your car.
I spent a couple laps in the passenger seat of the CT5-V Blackwing with Tony Roma, chief engineer for Cadillac sedans and a very capable club racer, to see what the creation was like in the hands of a creator. For our hot lap, Roma turned into the esses at an indicated 134 mph and walloped over all the curbs, seeming to send two wheels in the air each time. The car landed with total grace, no additional moments, as if it was falling onto a memory-foam mattress.
Unlike the smaller CT4-V Blackwing vis a vis the old ATS-V, the CT5-V Blackwing isn't a direct replacement for the CTS-V. This is a slightly smaller car, though the wheelbase is longer, and with its $85,000 base price, it's a little cheaper too. GM's rear-drive Alpha platform and LT4 supercharged small-block V-8 are carried over as well, but unlike the CTS-V, you can get this car with a six-speed manual.
To reiterate: A supercharged small-block and a manual in GM's world-class rear-drive chassis. Recipes don't get much better. But this, of course, means expectations are high. The CT5-V Blackwing blows them away. it's more than the sum of its rather remarkable parts.
Cadillac’s engineers knew for a while that along with the CT4-V Blackwing, the CT5-V Blackwing would be the brand's last internal-combustion super sedan. They wanted to go out on a high, and there's something gloriously absurd and subversive about this car in particular. By the middle of this decade, Cadillac will be all-electric. Today, it'll sell you a supercharged stick-shift luxury sedan.
Initially, the engine dominates the CT5-V Blackwing experience. The LT4 has been with us since 2015, but we're not getting tired of it. For the CT5, it gets a new intake and some other small revisions that bring output up to 668 hp and 659 lb-ft of torque, and it's a monster. The numbers flashing on the digital speedo the first time you really get on it are more than a little shocking.
Around VIR's beautiful full course, it's hilarious. The engine is all grunt and glorious small-block noises that… Well, god damn, we're going to miss them when they're gone. Throttle response makes you wish turbos were never invented. And did I mention the torque?
And did I also mention that you can have it with a six-speed manual? I believe I did, but it’s worth mentioning again. It's the familiar Tremec TR6060, the same basic 'box available with the CT4-V Blackwing and in current V-8 Camaros. It's a sweetheart, with a nicely weighted shift action and a clutch that, while understandably heavier than the CT4's, isn't going to give your left leg too much of a workout. Automatic rev-matching can be activated by a button on the center console; it works flawlessly, but the pedals are well spaced for heel-and-toe if you'd rather do it yourself. There's also no-lift shifting, where all you have to do is dip the clutch while holding full throttle and the car’s electronics do the rest.
The 10-speed auto is even quicker around the track, but as with the CT4, it's much easier to let the car's brain manage the ratios than to use the paddles. Still, get the manual. This is the only V-8 manual-transmission sedan on the market today. It will most likely be the last.
As good as the drivetrain is, it's the rest of the CT5-V Blackwing that keeps you coming back for more. You're aware of the extra 250-plus pounds the CT5 carries when compared to the smaller CT4, but the balance is largely similar, and the extra 6.7 inches of wheelbase makes the CT5 even friendlier at the limit. Ultimately, it's the more entertaining car as a result.
The word that kept coming to me, other than “hysterical,” was “velvety.” GM's latest MagneRide dampers give this car amazing precision, but with no hard edges. They're supple when you want, supportive when you need, and even have the ability to mitigate pitch and roll.
No doubt this amazing control is also aided by the optional $9000 carbon-ceramic brakes fit to all our test cars Cadillac. Claimed reduction in unsprung weight is 53 pounds, which you'll notice over the curbs. The Brembo-sourced brakes provided excellent performance, hauling the CT5 down from well over 140 mph on the pit straight lap after lap. And lest you balk at the added cost, a Brembo engineer said that the rotors should last the life of the car, or at least the time you own the car. Combine this with the benefits of reducing unsprung weight so significantly, and the cost starts to make sense… for a given definition of “sense.”. We didn't get a chance to try out the standard cast-iron brakes, but engineers say they're more than worthy for track use.
Tony Roma laps VIR in an automatic CT5-V Blackwing.
As with the CT4, the magic of the CT5-V Blackwing doesn't come from good hardware alone, but from the way in which the hardware is integrated. Once again, you have GM's clever Performance Traction Management system; when activated, PTM gets the powertrain, electronic rear differential, brakes, and MagneRide dampers all working together to keep the car in delightfully neutral balance. My sweet spot was Sport, which is apparently designed to flatter the moderately experienced driver; Cadillac's faster engineers use Race 1 and Race 2, which only provides a bit of traction control on corner exit, like what you get with a modern GT race car.
The CT5-V Blackwing will also make you wonder why modern performance sedans have embraced all-wheel drive. Despite managing 668 horsepower with just two wheels, traction is rarely an issue. Bespoke Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires no doubt help, but this ultimately speaks to how approachable this car is. It's a razor-sharp car that will never cut you. It wants to be your friend.
You can get used to this speed on track; on the road, it's a different story. Suddenly, 668 hp feels preposterous. If you use, say, 1/16th throttle, the CT5-V Blackwing seems perfectly civilized. Squeeze the right pedal just a little bit more and the acceleration is prodigious. The torque is such that the car feels mighty quick even in its higher gears. It's complete and utter overkill.
I will reluctantly admit that I wondered what the car would be like with a naturally aspirated small-block. On the road, it'd probably be as much fun, if not more. But it wouldn’t be in the spirit of ending the internal-combustion era in the best and most absurd way possible.
The qualities that make the chassis so good on track shine through on the road as well. At or around the speed limit, the quiet nuance of the CT5-V Blackwing reveals itself. The delightfully weighted steering, the perfectly matched control weights, the precision of the manual shifter; there's much here to savor.
If anything, the secondary ride isn't quite as good as the CT4-V Blackwing's on the road. But all in all, the CT5-V Blackwing is more comfortable than anything coming from BMW M at the moment. There seems to be a bit more road noise, which isn't surprising given the 305/30R19 tires out back, but this is still a car in which you could do a thousand miles without hesitation. The seats even have a lumbar massage function, and while the rest of the interior may not be BMW good, it’s far better than it was in the old CTS-V.
Forgive me if this sounds like a cop-out, but we'll need more time on familiar roads to render a more complete verdict on how the CT5-V Blackwing behaves outside the track. We only had around two hours, and the North Carolina country roads near VIR aren't anything terribly special. But even there, the CT5-V Blackwing felt truly special; unlike a lot of modern performance cars, it’s engaging at reasonable road speeds.
Brandon Vivian, Cadillac's chief engineer, told me he wanted this car to be the best of its kind. The CT5-V Blackwing shouldn't be remembered for simply being the last manual-transmission V-8 sport sedan. It should be remembered for being the greatest. He wants us to look back at this car fondly.
I would be shocked if we didn't. History, as always, will be the judge. But I think the CT5-V Blackwing will be considered one of the all-time greats. Cadillac married one of the sweetest sports sedan chassis ever devised to an all-time great V-8 and an excellent six-speed 'box. It's an excellent recipe, executed flawlessly.
It's probably the best sedan America has ever built. What a way to go.
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