Cadillac teases 200-mph CT5-V Blackwing
Cadillac released a single photo of the steering wheel that will be used in the highest-performance variants of its sedans, the 2022 CT5-V Blackwing and CT4-V Blackwing. The wheel, wrapped in black leather with a red racing stripe at the top center position, uses carbon-fiber trim for the bottom spokes and places a “V-Mode” button in easy reach of the driver’s thumb.
Cadillac didn’t expand on the V-Mode in its brief press release, although it’s safe to presume that the feature will be similar to the C8 Corvette’s Z Mode that allows the driver to engage personalized vehicle settings with a single button press.
There are a few additional details to be gleaned from the image. Most obvious is the “200” graphic visible in the instrument cluster, a clear indication of the car’s ability to reach that speed benchmark. As reported by RoadShow, Cadillac also wedged an Easter egg into the photo. Below the V-Series emblem at the bottom of the wheel, Cadillac left a coded message “>322”. A search for “>” shows that it’s Unicode Decimal Code for the greater than (>) symbol, and 322 kph is 200 mph. The third-gen CTS-V, powered by the 640-horsepower supercharged LT4 V-8, was also capable of hitting 200 mph. It seems that the CT5-V Blackwing could be able to top the previous king-of-the-hill Caddy, but by how much is anyone’s guess.
We expect the Blackwing models to feature similar powertrains to their ATS-V and CTS-V predecessors. That would mean the CT4-V Blackwing will get a variant of the twin-turbo 3.6-liter V-6 that made 464 hp in the ATS-V, while the CT5-V Blackwing will likely be powered by an LT4. Perhaps it will get the full 650 hp offered by the C7 Z06 and Camaro ZL1, or maybe it will inherit some of the upgrades from the 755-hp LT5 found in the ZR1 Corvette.
We’ve still got almost a year before we’ll see Cadillac Blackwings on the street; they’re not expected until summer 2021, but we’re sure Cadillac will have more teasers for us before then.
