The mighty Cadillac CTS-V is no more and in its place is currently… nothing. The 2020 Cadillac CT5-V, with its disappointing 355 horsepower, convinced no one it was a true CTS-V successor. Cadillac realised this, which is why more track-capable V-Series models are coming—and perhaps loaded with the dearly departed CTS-V’s batshit engine.
The top-tier CT5-V model (which we’re unclear will get a special, new name or just be a trim of the CT5-V) will get a V8, but it apparently won’t be the Blackwing V8 we first saw in the Cadillac CT6-V. Instead, Car and Driver has learned from an unnamed source familiar with the project that the car will use the 6.2-litre, supercharged V8 from its predecessor.
The Blackwing V8 is a twin-turbocharged thing that, in the CT6-V’s tune, makes 550 HP. The 6.2-litre LT4 engine, if you’ll kindly remember, made 640 HP. It is this engine, hopefully, that will find its way into the hottest CT5-V.
The reasoning, Car and Driver suspects, is packaging. See, the LT4 is a pushrod engine, which means it’s shorter, narrower and much more compact than the Blackwing’s double-overhead-cam design. Fitting it between the strut towers of the CT5 might be a problem.
So far, the Blackwing has only been found in the CT6-V, which is dead. When asked for comment, a Cadillac spokesperson noted, “The Blackwing is only available in the Cadillac CT6 Platinum and CT6-V. We have no additional plans regarding this engine to announce at this time.”
They added, “At this point, we are not sharing the name or engine for the future, high-performance V-Series vehicles, but we will do so in the upcoming months.”
So we don’t know what engine the top-tier CT5-V will get, or if it will maintain the CTS-V’s power figures. Regarding the LT4 engine, however, I’ve got some insight for the General Motors engineers: if it fits, it sits.