CAR FRONT
Recently we managed to acquire a Cadillac CT4 Blackwing. With a turbo 472 horsepower V-6 and 6-speed manual gearbox, it was a brisk ride, reaching 60 mph in just over 4 seconds. But there will always be those who demand more. That brings us to this baby blue CT5 Blackwing.
Text and photos by Chad Haire
ENGINE
Under the hood is a large 6.2 liter supercharged V-8. It cranks a healthy 668 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and stump-pulling 659 lbs./ft. of torque at 3,600 rpm. When pressed at full throttle, this thing is a beast!
ENGINE #2
This motor is handmade, with the builder's name mounted on a plaque. This one was handcrafted by Kathy Walker, so if it blows up, you know who to blame!
GEARBOX
The Blackwing comes standard with a 6-speed manual gearbox or an optional 10-speed automatic. The auto shifter is slightly quicker, gets better fuel economy, and is easier to live with. Yet about 50% of buyers order the manual. It is certainly a slick unit, combined with a smooth clutch. Below the shifter is a drive select button, for Touring, or Sport mode. The button on the left is for rev-matching.
TRACTION
This steering wheel control provides many traction control options to pick from.
TIRES
The Blackwing has 275/35ZR19 tires on the front and a pair of huge 305/30 ZR19 on the rear. They provide great traction, yet it is still possible to smoke rubber in third gear. The stopping power of the brakes is fantastic, the best of any previous Cadillac.
SEATS
These seats have high-grade leather and carbon fiber construction and look great. At a whopping $6K extra, they should!
POV
With the automatic tranny, 0-60 mph time is listed at 3.4 seconds, or 3.6 with the manual. With a claimed top speed of 186 mph for the 472 hp V-6 Blackwing, the V-8 version is rumored to be at 200 easy. We didn't try top speed in either, but both should be fast enough for any owner. They were certainly stable and comfortable enough at any speed we picked.
CAR REAR
When not burning rubber on city streets, the Blackwing is a nice highway cruiser. The only limitation is the small gas tank, 16 or 17 gallons, depending on what book you read. With EPA city economy rated at only 13 mpg, this can require plenty of stops if the car is driven hard.
MPG
The EPA highway economy is claimed to be 21 mpg, but we averaged about 24 during our 75 mph cruising.
OVERALL MILEAGE
In 765 miles of testing, we averaged 16 mpg overall. At about 47 gallons, that tab hit us at $247 using the required super-premium blend. But if you can afford the car, paying fuel bills should not be an issue.
PRICE TAG
This brings us to the price, starting at $84K which is a great deal. But with about $15K of carbon-fiber trim, and other goodies, the price accelerated about as quickly as the 0-60 time, at just under $105K.
