The Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Is One of the All-Time Great Sport Sedans

It's hard not to be spellbound by the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing—it is, perhaps, the definitive V-8, manual-transmission super-sedan. The only thing wrong is that it cast a shadow on its little brother, the CT4-V Blackwing.

Cadillac brought out the 668-hp monster CT5 at the same time as the CT4, and it dominated the conversation. Time spent with the CT4-V Blackwing alone, though, reveals how special this car is. The CT4 deserves to be lavished with attention. After a weekend with this orange, manual-transmission CT4-V Blackwing, I couldn’t think of a more perfect car to road-trip from my NYC home to Watkins Glen, intimidate Porsche GT4 drivers on track, and then drive home in total comfort. It might just be the most Road & Track car on sale today.

A quick recap: The CT4-V Blackwing is an evolution of the ATS-V it replaces. It rides on GM's rear-drive Alpha 2 platform (like the CT5), and sports a 3.6-liter twin-turbo V-6 making 472 hp and 445 lb-ft of torque. Crucially, the CT4 Blackwing has all of GM's best performance-car hardware, including an electronic limited-slip differential and most importantly, MageRide 4.0 dampers. I've covered these dampers in-depth previously; they're among the very best in the industry. All of the chassis systems integrate with GM's sophisticated Performance Traction Management system, which makes the car faster in the hands of drivers of all experience levels when it’s switched on.

After first driving the CT4-V Blackwing at Virginia International Raceway in 2021, I couldn't wait to try it out on more familiar roads. Lapping one of America's greatest road courses in this car was a dream, but a good sport-sedan has to work in the real world. The Blackwing is just as mind-blowing in and outside of New York City as it is being thrown over the curbing at VIR.

Thank those MagneRide dampers and the brilliant engineers who calibrated them. The CT4-V Blackwing rides as well as the finest big luxury sedans on sale today, while still offering benchmark handling. It calls to mind cars like the Lotus Evora more than any other sport sedan on sale today, breathing with the road and ironing out any imperfections beneath. What's clever is that shocks that allow so much adjustment could feel abnormal, yet to Cadillac's credit, the way the body moves feels natural. There's just enough roll and pitch to give the driver a good sense of connection, but it's never in excess.

If I have one problem with both the CT4 and CT5 Blackwing, it's that there are too many drive-mode configurations. The normal Tour mode is fine for everyday driving, but for spirited driving, it took me a while to come up with the ideal configuration. You can program two custom modes, My Mode and V-Mode, the latter of which is accessible by a dedicated button on the steering wheel. My perfect setup is to leave everything in Sport, with the suspension and steering in Tour mode. Essentially, you get aggressive powertrain settings with softer chassis settings and it's just about perfect. If you have a Blackwing, I recommend you try this, especially because the steering is artificially heavy in all but Tour mode.

Once that’s set, the Blackwing becomes one of today’s sweetest cars for spirited road driving. In and around the New York Metro area, we're cursed with poor road surfaces, but within a 100-mile radius, there are some fun fast back roads. The Blackwing monsters them.

You don't need more power than this. The CT4-V Blackwing is more than quick enough, yet not absurdly so like the 668-hp CT5-V Blackwing. It doesn't feel quite as quick as a manual-transmission BMW M3, and per figures from our colleagues at Car and Driver, the stopwatch backs that up, but you'll never feel shortchanged in the speed department. Plus, what few tenths the CT4 gives up to the M3 are more than made up for with engagement. The new M3 feels remote, whereas the CT4 feels alive. The Cadillac's ride quality is also better and its six-speed manual is far superior.