This is a swan song, guys.
CadillacIf you want in on a gangbuster Cadillac performance sedan with a raucous internal-combustion engine, the clock's ticking. The 2022 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing and CT4-V Blackwing sedans the brand revealed this week will be the final performance cars with an internal-combustion engine providing power. After years of glory with the Cadillac V Series, this is truly the end of an era.
"The V-Series Blackwing sedans are still an incredibly important part of our portfolio and brand strategy," Rory Harvey, Cadillac's vice president of sales and marketing said during a media briefing. "While these may be the last petrol Vs we introduce, I can assure you that Cadillac's commitment to performance will remain no matter the propulsion."
The latter half of his remarks is reassuring to be sure, but also, it's sort of a bummer. Cadillac carved a niche for itself creating all-out performance sedans with ridiculous figures since the oughties. I mean, a Cadillac with a Corvette engine? That's metal. And even the previous ATS-V and this latest CT4-V Blackwing with a twin-turbo, 3.6-liter V6 bring power to the party. They weren't always segment leaders, but they're darn good cars. The Blackwings are shaping up to be the best yet, at least on paper.
When we finally slide behind the wheel of them both, we'll need to approach them with a different kind of respect. By all counts, this is the last time General Motors engineers will labor over a Cadillac performance sedan that sips fossil fuel and emits a natural bark synthetic soundtracks just can't match. And knowing that, the upcoming EVs better be darn good, Caddy.
