Sam Krahn 
It’s been a little while since we have heard anything on the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing and CT4-V Blackwing due to a six month delay, but GM doesn’t want us to forget about these exciting performance sedans. In fact, Cadillac just teased the sedans by revealing their Blackwing-exclusive steering wheel, which looks very nice. With this steering wheel shot, we have a few clues about the performance and features about these high performance American sedans.
As for the wheel itself, it gets some nice carbon fiber trim at the bottom portion with the V emblem sitting proud. At the top, there’s a racy twelve-o-clock red stripe. New for the Blackwing models are the configurable driving mode selectors on the wheel. Many performance cars, like the German super sedan competition, have been moving to put their drive mode selectors on the steering wheel for easy access while driving, so it’s hardly a surprise for Cadillac to follow suit.
Another key detail: a 200 mile-per-hour reading on the digital instrument cluster. Will it outrun the Dodge Charger Hellcat Redeye? That remains to be seen.
On the left is the Cadillac-exclusive V Mode button, sounding an awful lot like the C8 Corvette’s Z Mode, in that it’s a shortcut button to near-endless driver customization levels. The right side houses a Performance Traction Management button. Cadillac says moving the drive mode buttons offers better ergonomics during performance driving, and we’d agree.
When revealed, the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing will pack a LT4 supercharged 6.2L V8 engine with at least the 640 hp of the outgoing CTS-V. The CT4-V Blackwing will replace the ATS-V, and carry the same 3.6 liter V6. Like it’s older sibling, it’s unclear whether it’ll increase output from the 464 horsepower and 445 lb-ft of torque of the ATS-V.
Like the previous generations, both a manual or automatic gearbox will be on offer. In today’s world, that’s pretty rare in the segment. They also ride on modified versions of the outgoing sedans’ platforms. Despite the similarities between the V-Series generations, Cadillac’s engineers have managed to make the cars lap Virginia International Raceway “several seconds” faster than before.
Still, we will miss having the coupe of the ATS-V and second generation CTS-V, and are still mourning the loss of the awesome CTS-V wagon.
