2024 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Review: More Than Speed Makes It Special

It's time for performance car traditionalists to put their money where their mouths are, because the clock is undeniably running out on gas engines being the grunt-of-choice. The transition to electrification, along with stricter emissions rules and the market force realities of automaker bottom-line, means the days of internal combustion are numbered. That alone is enough to make the 2024 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing special.

Packaging a potent twin-turbo V6 in a luxury sedan is fun, but where things get truly interesting is Cadillac's reluctance to compromise even in the face of the Blackwing's competitive set. The American sedan isn't as outlandishly styled as most rivals; its cabin isn't as gizmo-packed. And, arguably most beguiling of all, it hasn't ditched things like a manual transmission simply because a high-tech alternative might be faster.

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Entrance to the Blackwing show costs $61,495 (plus $1,395 destination). More, it's true, than the regular CT4 V-Series, but well short of a BMW M3 or AMG C63. Even with a healthy heaping of options, at $72,535 all-in this review car still undercuts the Germans.

The CT4 is a handsome sedan, and in Blackwing-blessed form, the changes have been relatively even-handed. Cadillac keeps its instantly recognizable vertical stacked lights front and rear and throws on a custom mesh grille, new lower fascia, custom badging, and a rear spoiler. A quad-tipped exhaust system pokes out through a redesigned rear diffuser.

The 18-inch wheels come standard and are the largest (and only) size Cadillac offers. The wheel wells could take larger, but at the cost of clearance during more aggressive turns, and sidewall compliance overall. It's all part of that whole "usable performance" focus, with the welcome side-effect that replacing the 18-inch Michelin Pilot Sport 4 rubber should be a little cheaper than 19-inch versions.

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Cadillac also gets kudos for offering more than the usual array of exterior colors. If you're unimpressed by black, white, silver, or dark blue, perhaps the Radiant Red Tint ($1,225) of this review car will appeal, or the even-more-eye-searing Electric Blue or Blaze Orange Metallic (each $625). Not to everybody's tastes, certainly, but a welcome departure from many rivals' standard color palettes.

Confusingly, though Cadillac has used Blackwing as the name for a specific engine — a potent twin-turbo V8 — in this context it's a series of best-of-the-best performance cars. Currently applied to the CT4 and CT5, the specific powertrains vary but the ethos is the same: give enthusiast drivers a taste of what's starting to feel like old-school performance in the age of EVs.

Blackwing won't, though, ignore electrification (even if some internal combustion fans might prefer to). Later in 2024, Cadillac teases, it'll be revealing the first EV flavor of Blackwing performance. Given things like instantaneous torque delivery, there's no denying that electric vehicles have plenty of potential to eclipse gasoline once issues like charging and consistent power delivery have been addressed more comprehensively.

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Just how fans will respond to that is a question yet to be addressed. For the moment, Caddy's performance options are resolutely gas-powered, and that has clearly struck a chord. Not least because, according to the automaker, more than half of Blackwing buyers are opting for the stick shift and not the optional automatic.

There's an excellent reason for that: the six-speed manual is a gem. Topped by a custom 3D-printed metal cap, it has a smooth, precise throw and is paired with a near-perfectly weighted clutch. Certainly, the idea of choosing a luxury car without an automatic might seem odd at this point — though the Blackwing can drive fast, it must also satisfy those core Cadillac credentials — but the CT4's manual is somehow as comfortable to use in daily driving as it is rewarding when you're motoring more briskly.

As you'd expect, there's a slight performance hit when you're shifting the gears yourself. Cadillac says the six-speed can do the 0-60 mph dash in 3.9 seconds, while the available 10-speed automatic shaves a tenth of a second off that. If you care about that discrepancy, you're missing the point.

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Involvement is absolutely the name of the game, here, not to mention coaxing the best out of your own abilities and the 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6's 472 horsepower and 445 lb-ft of torque. Cadillac's active rev-matching can help with that — adjusting engine speed preemptively for more effective upshifts and downshifts — and, just as important, can be switched off so that you don't sound like an attention-hungry showoff when you're slowing for a red light.

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No Lift Shift even allows you to slam through the gears without lifting your right foot (you'll still need to hit the clutch, of course), a neat nod to adding the luxury of convenience to what's otherwise a pleasingly mechanical car.

You could say that this recipe of judiciously applied technology — which aids but doesn't overshadow the manual involvement a Blackwing promises — is the commonality throughout the sedan experience. Magnetic Ride Control, which can near-magically firm or soften the dampers according to drive mode and road conditions, is standard and helps with the CT4-V Blackwing's impressive duality. Think plush and refined when in Tour mode (Caddy's equivalent of Comfort), then super-firm in more aggressive settings.

The same goes for the electronic limited-slip rear differential (with its own performance cooler for track use), pushing power left to right in the rear-wheel-drive-only Blackwing. Great for the track, yes, but no bad thing to have when there's water or snow on the ground.

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Then there's Performance Traction Management (PTM), which impacts things like the chassis, stability system, and other settings. That adds a further five options — Wet, Dry, Sport, Race 1, and Race 2 — intended to be tweaked when on the track. You might well want to play with it elsewhere, though, not least because Cadillac puts a cute and tactile little toggle switch for the system on the optional high-performance steering wheel.

To say the CT4-V Blackwing is nimble is to damn Cadillac's handiwork here with understatement. Even at sensible speeds on public roads, it only takes a few miles and a couple of corners to see that the automaker's engineers have dialed in the variable-assist steering perfectly, an ideal foil to the general balance of the suspension and how well the sedan transfers its weight. If you lose grip, it's undoubtedly because you dialed back the PTM for some rump-wiggling whimsy.

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There's been, in recent years, a tendency for automakers to load up their performance cars with umpteen different modes, submodes, and customizable settings. Though all done in the name of empowering the driver, that flexibility can be a double-edged sword, particularly when you're faced with a fun stretch of road ahead and don't want to have to fiddle with all the buttons and options like an organ player.

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Cadillac's fix is a "V" button on the wheel which, when tapped, summons the driver-configurable V-Mode. It's one-stab access to your pick of the feistiest steering, suspension, engine, transmission, brake feel, PTM, and even engine sound options.

The rest of the dashboard doesn't feel quite so special. Smatterings of carbon fiber trim and a red 12 o'clock marker on the wheel are nice, and all the plastics feel sturdy just like in a regular CT4, but otherwise there's not a huge amount here to elevate the cabin from the non-V car. The 8-inch infotainment touchscreen — with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support — looks like a tiny afterthought and gets none of the fun custom Blackwing graphics of the 12-inch digital cluster display. However, $725 adds a head-up display.

The front bucket seats — heated as standard, with cooling and massage as options — are at least comfortable and supportive, while the Sky Cool Gray leather is a welcome splash of sporty brightness. You'll pay $4,900 more for that color package, mind.

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Rear seat space is on the snug side, the bowed rears of the front buckets don't help there, and the fairly high shoulder line means it's pretty dark, too. 10.7 cu-ft of trunk space is solid, however. The EPA says you could see 15 mpg in the city, 23 mpg on the highway, and 18 mpg combined (assuming, that is, some right foot restraint).

"Serious" Blackwing fans may well find themselves drawn in by the undeniable allure of the CT5-V Blackwing. After all, with its 6.2-liter supercharged V8 — shared with the Corvette — the bigger sedan is more powerful, faster, and generally more extreme than its CT4-based sibling.

It's also a whole lot more expensive, kicking off at $93,495 before destination and options, and you'll struggle to find (public) roads where you can (legally) flex anything near its performance potential. As a track day plaything you don't need to trailer there and back, it's stupendous, but the CT4-V Blackwing feels a little bit more accessible.

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Don't confuse that with tame, though. If you've ever been tempted by a BMW M or a Mercedes-AMG but put off by how tech-first they now seem (or, for that matter, tempted by one of Alfa Romeo's Quadrifoglio models but dissuaded by reliability reports), Cadillac's conscious decision to play up the mechanical aspect of the Blackwing has undeniable appeal. That it makes a performance beast without also sacrificing the sedan's ability to cosset is all the better.

Indeed, the worst thing you can say about the CT4-V Blackwing is that its days are numbered. If you're tempted, and you probably ought to be, then now isn't the time to delay.