Cadillac is more famous for its luxurious cars and comfortable SUVs. But the best kept secret within the Cadillac range is the 2023 CT5-V Blackwing. A super sedan that has true muscle car credentials, yet all while offering all the luxury from a Cadillac. Freedom Street Garage have been lucky enough to get a closer look at the CT5-V and uncover all its secrets and what makes this sedan tick.
Big V8 power and a top speed of over 200 mph ensure that the CT5-V is a real beast. Potentially the most potent luxury sedan currently on the market. Features such as a 10-speed automatic transmission ensure that the CT5-V Blackwing is silky smooth to drive and allows for superb handling of the power.
What Lies Under The Hood Of The CT5-V Blackwing
Presenters Alex and Chris first take us on a deep dive of under the hood of the Cadillac. What Cadillac have given the car is a hand-built, 6.2-liter LT4 supercharged V8 engine. It pushes 686 hp and 659 lb-ft of torque. Only about a dozen people are actually able to build these engines, each signed by the builder. The engine is straight out of the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and Corvette Z06. As well as the Cadillac Escalade-V and the CTS-V. and is only used in GM’s performance models. The supercharger is a 1.7-liter in-house development from Cadillac featuring forged pistons and 10-to-1 compression.
The torque delivery is very impressive, providing instant delivery while the blower whine on the car is more refined than on other supercharged cars. Even though it is a luxury car, plenty of sound comes out of the rear exhausts. The car oozes high quality, with features like a stainless-steel exhaust manifold a feature you normally see on an upgrade package. An added bonus with the sedan is that it is quite easy to work on yourself, with plenty of space within the engine bay for easy access to parts.
How The CT5-V Blackwing Compares To Its Hellcat Rival
As the pinnacle of luxury and performance, the CT5-V Blackwing doesn’t have many rivals. But one is the Dodge Challenger Hellcat. For another video, the Freedom Street Garage pitched the Cadillac against a Hellcat on an unprepared surface in drag races. Thanks to the 10-speed automatic transmission, the car remained in its power band perfectly. Proving how fast it was in a straight line to beat the Hellcat, a car with more power than the sedan. The Michelin Pilot Sport 19-inch tires provide plenty of grip off the line for the CT5-V.
Given straight-line racing on unprepped surfaces isn’t what the car was for, that is impressive. Especially as the Cadillac doubles up as a practical car, more so than the Hellcat coupe. Visibility within the CT5-V is much better than in its Dodge rival, and it is more suited to actual track days than the Challenger. Variable valve timing and direct injection ensures that V8 power delivery is as smooth as possible.
The CT5-V Blackwing Offers Plenty Of Luxury With Its Performance
The most impressive aspect of the build is the level of luxury it offers, on top of the V8 performance. The interior is an incredible place to be, rivaling European cars with a very clean design, and extra carbon fiber details. The red accent on the steering wheel and other areas is a nice touch, and 18-inch adjustable leather seats are the height of comfort. The seats have power-lumbar massagers and heating placed in them. Adding to the comfort that the Blackwing offers. Massagers aren’t what you would expect from a V8 muscle car.
The seatbelts actually pull you in as you speed up, helping you feel connected to the car. It is a big step up from previous Cadillac interiors, with one complaint that they were not as refined as they should have been. An audio system with a Bose 15-speaker setup provides the best sound possible, while ambient LED lighting is another nice touch. There are other mod-cons as well such as wireless phone charging, and a 12-inch diagonal HD cluster that is reconfigurable. One feature is a personalized track configuration display, to enhance your performance on track days.
The Blackwing also features driving assists you wouldn’t expect on what is really a muscle sedan. Forward collision alert, front pedestrian braking and lane change alert are just some of the high-end safety features the car has. Lane keep assist, and a safety alert seat are two more that feature on the Blackwing. There are plenty of hints at the car’s performance within too, with alloy paddle shifters and a unique serial numbered plate all sports features. The thick rim of the steering wheel also shows that this car was born for the racetrack.
The CT5-V Blackwing Has A Wide Array Of Driving Modes
To best suit the type of driving you are currently in, the Blackwing has a good selection of driving modes. These are Snow/ice, tour, sport, track, my mode and V-mode. That last driving mode is the most potent of them all, accessed by the V-button on the steering wheel. It takes you into the performance control menu, to dial it into whatever you want to do with the car and extract the most performance from it. Other modes like tour help the Blackwing be as comfortable as possible for daily driving.
Speaking of comfort, Cadillac worked had on the car’s suspension to provide a high level when driving. The CT5-V sits on GM’s Alpha platform, and on-track shares lots of underpinnings with the Camaro ZL1. But the suspension is very advanced, featuring GMs Magneride 4.0, or magnetic ride control. This is the most advanced version of that suspension system yet. The system uses electromagnets and magneto rheological fluid to continually vary the damping rate. It makes for a very comfortable highway ride, while it can also handle the level of performance you will extract from the car on the closed circuit.
Cadillac’s CT5-V Blackwing Looks More Like A Muscle Car Than Luxury Sedan
The Blackwing doesn’t look like your average comfortable sedan. The high-performance mesh grille design, front splitter and rear spoiler and aerodynamic appendages scream muscle. There are 11 different heating and cooling exchanges on the car. Helping to feed the V8 with as much air as possible. The splitter and spoiler work hand-in-hand to reduce lift on the car while generating traction. It is quite a sophisticated setup, and that aero performance is also backed up by powerful Brembo 6-piston front and 4-piston rear brakes.
At just under $100,000 the Blackwing is not cheap. But it’s a fantastic performance car with the level of luxury anyone would expect from a Cadillac with the added bonus that it can go very fast as well.
Source: Freedom Street Garage YouTube Channel
