Call this sedan loud, proud – and call me wowed!
In a world where even SUVs get performance rubber and honking engines of the EV, V-6 and V-8 variety; there still exists (however briefly) a place for a hand-built hand, supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 with 668 hp and a whopping 659 lb-ft of torque.
And like the amazing Corvette that birthed some of the 2025 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing, this is rear-wheel-drive.
Smoke ‘em (tires, I mean) if you got ‘em!
CT5 V Blackwing Upgraded For 2025
The compact CT5 sedan was introduced in 2020, its fastback design inspired by Cadillac’s 2016 Escala concept. For 2025, this sleek 4-door got a definite facelift atop its long 116-inch wheelbase.
That refinement starts with a tougher face. Its got mesh gloss black with improved LED headlights, slim and slit down. A bigger outer edge intake flanks a very aggressive lower grille with more intakes and a subdued air dam. We had the Carbon Fiber Package, with grille accent, more aggressive lower side sills flowing off functional front fender vents low down, and a rear spoiler sprouting from the tight, high trunk lid over new quad trapezoid exhaust tips. It retains an arcing roofline that ends with a raked rear window and high trunk with pronounced carbon fiber spoiler.
Aggressive Michelin Pilot Sport rubber – P275/35ZR19-inchers in front, and wider P305/30ZR19’s in back – live on semi-gloss black 10-spoke alloys. They neatly fill flared fenders with huge cross-drilled carbon ceramic disc brakes.
It looks so low, tight and right. We parked it at our local Caffeine & Octane Jacksonville monthly show where it gathered lots of kin – Corvettes with the same engine – and fans who looked at its aggressive stance, and its carbon fiber aero.
Cadillac-Worthy Interior Adorns CT5 V Blackwing
The CT5 welcomes owners at night with a petite Cadillac crest glowing off the rear of the dashboard, joined by welcome lights on door handles and puddle lights, plus front and rear LED light animation. You settle into black and tan leather sports bucket seats with aggressive bolstering, plus massage, heat and cooling. The seats are housed in glossy carbon fiber shells. They have manually-adjustable thigh support while the driver gets memory presets. The sweeping dashboard is topped with stitched faux leather along with glossy carbon fiber accents edged in alloy.
The seats get embossed leather trim and really hug the occupants in curves. Despite that, they aren’t constricting. Like most GM products, there are buzzers in the driver’s seat that let you know when you are drifting out of lane or backing into something. There’s a thick leather-clad steering wheel with paddle shifters in back. Audio, cruise, phone and voice command controls are in front.
There’s a small number plate at the bottom of the wheel. Ours reads 81-341. That means it’s a limited edition CT5 (8), with 10-speed automatic (1), then the last three numbers show the production number for the car we had in that configuration.
There’s Amazon Alexa, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and HD Radio, with solid sound from the AKG audio system and a handy volume knob on the center console. Overhead, lush sueded-microfiber headliner, plus gold seatbelts front and rear. Despite Cadillac phasing out Android Auto and Apple Car Play in its newest models, it continues in the CT5.
The biggest change this year is the replacement of digital gauge, and separate center screen with a sweeping 33-inch display. The driver gets a configurable gauge display, including a navigation map with digital mpg; or tachometer and gas gauge framing the speed display, or just speed.
The center screen can display basics like a map, or audio/tripmeter/settings/safety system status and more. My favorite sections are the Performance pages with horsepower, turbo boost and torque gauge displays, or a triple-screen with big G-Force meter, tire pressures and engine info. The center touchscreen even accesses a video recorder, or a performance data recorder if you pop in a memory card.
The center console, accented in alloy and carbon fiber, has a twist/tap rotary controller to handle screen functions, plus main menu buttons. Drive modes, traction control and auto-hold brake buttons are in front of the electronic gearshift, which also offers manual shifting if paddles aren’t your thing. The included Drive modes are: Tour, Sport, Track, Snow/Ice, and My Mode to adjust shifting, steering brake feel and vehicle sound character. There’s an inductive charger out of the way, while part of the interior gets accent lighting.
The center armrest has USB ports. The head-up display shows the basics, plus navigation and safety system status. Under the center screen are controls for a/c, seat heat/cooling, parking sensors, auto-park, lane-keep and more.
The sloping roof line and some rear wheel intrusion meant the back door opening was a bit small, so I had to duck. Once in there’s good leg room. The 11.7-cu.ft. trunk is deep and wide. Basically, this Blackwing can be a sane, comfy family Cadillac – with some race car bred into it.
CT5 V Blackwing Plays Like A Race Car
Cadillac is preparing to enter Formula 1, with a very successful IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship season in the sleek V Series.R. We found this can truly be a family Corvette, right down to sharing the same engine.
As one race car driver friend said, “this isn’t your father’s Cadillac” unless it came with a supercharged 6.2-liter, cast alloy 16-valve OHV V-8 with titanium valves, forged aluminum pistons and track-capable sump oiling. It has 668 hp at 6,500 rpm, and 659 lb-ft of torque at a low 3,600-rpm. You can get it with a Tremec 6-speed manual. We had the quick-shifting 10-speed paddle-shift automatic. And like AMG, there’s an engine build plate. Ben Walden did this one.
This is a very quick 4,142-lb. rear-wheel-drive sedan that thinks like a Corvette. Set it in Tour mode and its just fine for every day driving. The Cadillac leaped off the line with a hint of wheelspin into first, second and third to hit 60 mph in 3.9 seconds, with a wondrous bellow from the quad pipes. When set in Sport mode the Cadillac saw wheelspin in the first two shifts as the rear stepped briefly out of line before traction control caught. It got to 60 mph in a quick 3.7 seconds.
Launch control was set by turning off traction control and tapping the button. That resulted in the Blackwing behaving, controlling wheelspin quickly as its engine roared. It then pinned us to our seat, rocketing to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. Deceleration and downshifts brought a delightful overrun crackling. That had me chuckling. It was an absolute delight in a luxury sedan able to do it time and time again with almost no drama, pulling .86Gs on launch. It delivered a tad over 12 mpg average while playing and as high as 25 mpg commuting in Tour mode.
This 4-door/5-seat sedan is quicker than the 2022 Corvette ZL1 I tested with the 495-hp 6.2-liter V-8. The Vette hit 60 in 3.6 seconds. And a Hellcat Charger with a supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI V-8 with 707 hp and 650 lb.-ft. of torque saw 60 mph in 4.3 seconds using launch control in our 2022 test. The Hellcat wasn’t as well behaved on launch, averaging 11 mpg.
This CT5 rides on McPherson-type front suspension with cross-axis dual lower ball joints, twin-tube struts; then a five-link independent rear with coil springs. It has hollow stabilizer bars and Magnetic Ride Control at each corner. The result is a supple yet taut suspension, quickly damping every bump in Touring mode with just a hint of softness. Sport and Track mode very quickly damped any bump. It was tightly controlled on rebound, very firm but not abusive, at least on our Florida roads.
Also a delight is how this Cadillac drove the twisty bits. Steering was direct and full of feel in Touring, and delightfully more direct in Sport and Track modes with great road feel. The magnetic ride control and sticky rubber combined to make this big car shrink on turns. It easily pulled .55Gs in basic cornering. It was flat and neutral powering up expressway ramps. When we tackled steady-state cornering the car registered a totally neutral feel, with no understeer, and 1.07Gs – drama-free. There was no discernable body roll. The race track video I’ve seen bears this out. It’s flat and full of stiction in any corner.
As for stopping all this speed, there are cross-drilled carbon ceramic rotors with staggered 15.67-inch Brembo six-piston calipers (front) and four-piston 14.7-inch calipers (rear). The pedal reacted quickly, but easily controllable with quick, short and straight stops every time from speed. We pulled a negative 1.17Gs on deceleration. There was no fade after repeated use. The Cadillac was very quiet during commutes, comfortably suspended with four on board, yet able to pass anything easily with just a minute gas pedal pressure without alarming anyone with too quick a burst of speed if I desired.
We had Super Cruise autonomous driving – it stayed in lane and at speed hands-free, only drifting a bit at exit ramps when right-side lane lines moved away. It automatically changes lane if it senses slower traffic ahead. The rear-view mirror offers a wide-screen rear video image.
CT5 pricing starts at $49,090 for the RWD Premium with turbocharged 2-liter four; our CT5-V Blackwing is the top tier, starting at $97,600 with $47,620 in options. The $18,000 Precision Package adds stiffer springs and track-oriented MagnaRide Suspension, plus upgrades like the carbon ceramic brakes. The tan and black leather interior is $8,090; the two carbon fiber interior and exterior bits total $12,330; the 10-speed automatic (a hint quicker than the 6-speed manual) is another $3,675. Super Cruise adds $2,600. A few more options tallied it to $146,715. The closest competitors are the Audi RS 7, with twin-turbocharged 4-liter V-8, all-wheel drive and 621 hp, Next up, is the plug-in hybrid BMW M5 with a twin-turbocharged, 4.4-liter V-8 with all-wheel drive and 717 hp. They are both quick and very agile, and worthy competitors.
Bottom line: This Blackwing can outrun most cars with four doors, and a few with two, yet waft a family gently to dinner, or a spouse to work. It’s effortless power and grace, its pace as good as what comes from across the pond.
2025 Cadillac CT5 V Blackwing Specifications
Vehicle type – 4-door, 5-passenger all-wheel-drive sports sedan
Base price – $97,600 (as tested: $146,715)
Engine type – supercharged OHV 16-valve aluminum V-8
Displacement – 6.2 liters
Horsepower (net) – 668 @ 6,500 rpm
Torque (lb-ft) – 659 @ 3,600 rpm
Transmission – 10-speed automatic w/paddle shifters
Wheelbase – 116 inches
Overall length 194.9 inches
Overall width – 74.1 inches w/out mirrors
Height – 56.5 inches
Front headroom – 39 inches
Front legroom – 42.4 inches
Rear headroom – 36.6 inches
Rear legroom – 37 inches
Cargo capacity – 11.9 cu. ft.
Curb weight – 4,142 lbs.
Fuel capacity – 17.4 gallons
Mileage rating – 13 mpg city/20 mpg highway