Detour
Shifting the Sports Sedan Benchmark
Detour
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
BRIAN
DOUGLAS
Cadillac's CT5 Blackwing is a nice balance of power,
control, and value
BY BRIAN DOUGLAS
2022 Cadillac CT5 V-Series Blackwing
transportation
N
OT VERY LONG AGO, A
handful of luxury brands offered
rip-snorting sports sedans for
enthusiasts who wished to share
their driving entertainment with
more than one passenger at a time.
e big German players are still in
the game with Audi's RS7, BMW's M5, and Mercedes-
Benz's AMG E63 all offering around 600 horsepower
along with four-door practicality. And they sensibly deliv-
er this prodigious power to all four wheels to help control
excessive enthusiasm.
In contrast, Cadillac's CT5 Blackwing unleashes its tire-
shredding 668 horses to the rear wheels through a six-
speed manual gearbox all wrapped up in a sedan that's
lighter than its import rivals. I can testify that if you
floor this Caddy's right pedal, even in second or third
gear, you'll want to keep a grip. is car can dance when
prompted, and that's the fun of it since you have all the
control with both hands and feet engaged in the process.
Size vs. Finesse
Cadillac's Blackwing designation originally applied
to a brand-new 4.2-liter, dual overhead cam, twin-
turbocharged V8 that produced 550 HP. Not accidentally,
those specifications are quite similar to luxury European
rivals that carry AMG, M, and RS badging, and it was
just what former Cadillac management felt was needed to
get credibility in car magazine reporting and locker room
comparisons. But only a few hundred of the hand-built
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92 JULY 2022 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE
