- we hear that the new high-performance v version of the cadillac ct5 won't have the engine we were expecting.
- instead of the twin-turbo 4.2-liter blackwing v-8 we anticipated, the new sports sedan will use the same supercharged 6.2-liter as its predecessor the cts-v.
- the name of this upcoming ct5-v variant is still unclear, but it will likely arrive later this year.
the new top dog in the cadillac ct5-v lineup will have a v-8 engine, but not the one we were expecting. instead of cadillac's twin-turbocharged 4.2-liter v-8, nicknamed blackwing, this high-performance sedan is likely to have the same supercharged 6.2-liter v-8 engine as its predecessor the cts-v, according to a source familiar with the project.
videos of ct5-v prototypes testing seem to support this. while we can't quite make out a distinct supercharger whine, the raspy engine note we hear as these sedans accelerate is far more similar to the small-block v-8 sound we recognize from the old cts-v and the chevy camaro zl1 that also uses this lt4 engine. and, hey, we're not complaining—this engine is awesome and made a whopping 640 horsepower in the cts-v, meaning the ct5-v is shaping up to be an equally impressive performance machine.
we think that packaging is the key reason behind this decision. because of the blackwing v-8's double-overhead-cam design, it's taller and wider than the pushrod 6.2-liter v-8, meaning it may not fit easily between the strut towers of the ct5, which uses gm's alpha platform. the blackwing v-8's only application so far is in the now defunct ct6-v, which rides on a different, larger platform called omega. we haven't heard rumors of any other applications for this engine, so disappointingly this new v-8 may go the way of the ct6 and never be heard from again.
a higher-performance ct4-v is also on its way, and video footage confirms our earlier speculation that this will have a twin-turbocharged v-6, likely the same 3.6-liter unit from the ats-v.
both of these v sedans will clearly sit at the top of their respective lineups, although we still don't know what cadillac will call them to set them apart from the current ct5-v and ct4-v models. the naming scheme has gotten confusing, as cadillac is now designating these medium-performance models as v-series variants and hasn't yet announced names for the upcoming range-topping performance models. we should hear more about these high-performance cadillac v sedans later this year.