Cadillac's CT5-V Blackwing offers traditional power in an auto world turning electric
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Like many car brands, Cadillac has declared that the future belongs to electric power.
But until that happens, a performance model with a V8 engine is making one last hurrah.
The 2022 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing, base price about $85,000, is a sport sedan to rival anything from across the Atlantic in terms of specs and performance.
The supercharged V8 makes 668 horsepower. And get this: buyers can choose to shift their own gears with an actual manual transmission. That combination of V8 power and a stick is not available on any BMW or Mercedes-Benz. Even GM's own Corvette is only sold with an automatic.
Cadillac's been down this road before. Back in 2004 GM's luxury brand sort of shocked the automotive world with the original V model, the CTS-V, with a big V8 stuffed under the hood.
If a V8 isn't your thing, and this one's $85,000 starting price tag is a little rich, say hello to the CT5-V's little brother, the CT4-V. It's also labeled Blackwing, and also available with a stick, but sports a twin-turbo V6 engine and a base price closer to $60,000.
This high-performance Caddy is arriving at an interesting time, as the entire automotive world evolves. It was under development for quite a while, and the fully-electric era is still quite a ways out. In reality, they really won't sell very many of these, and it's not known for how long. So as the saying goes, get one while you can.
Will this special sedan be a collector's item in the future? Who knows? It could someday be seen as a dinosaur as everyone's plugging their cars in. But remember when Cadillac offered this high-performance station wagon some years back? They've become a desirable neo-classic, selling at auctions for often as much as they cost new, or more, especially the rarest ones with manual transmissions.
So say hello to arguably the most performance-oriented Cadillac to ever come off an assembly line. And, be prepared to say goodbye to it as well.
