2022 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing

2022 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing

The CT4-V Blackwing is an evolution of the ATS-V, a sports sedan graced with handling and performance but held back by an unrefined engine and a child-size back seat. The new car has a similarly tight rear seat, but a larger door opening makes it easier for adults to get in and out.
Launched together, comparing the CT4-V Blackwing to the headlining CT5-V Blackwing might make the smaller sedan seem like an opening act. After all, the smaller Blackwing's twin-turbo V-6, an engine that shares a lot with the V-6 in a Chevrolet Colorado, is nearly 200 horsepower off the other Blackwing's 668-hp V-8.

Nearly 500 horsepower is still a lot of firepower, and the 472-hp 3.6-liter V-6 enjoys a linear and immediate—for a turbo—throttle response. And this engine has learned how to sing. Inside and out, it sounds nothing like the 464-hp version in the old ATS-V. When the variable exhaust bypasses the muffler, it sounds angry, purposeful, and intimidating. To enhance the V-6 notes inside, the AKG audio system plays actual recordings of the V's engine through the speakers. It's more like autotune than the outright fakery of Milli Vanilli.
Equipped with the $3175 10-speed automatic transmission, it should be able to bolt to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds. A no-cost six-speed manual will add a few tenths. In your mind, however, the manual will seem quicker thanks to a no-lift-shift feature. Keep your right foot pinned to the firewall, stab the clutch, and grab the next gear. The Tremec TR-6060 shifts with ease and accuracy. And if you do select the manual, Cadillac includes a bonus: titanium connecting rods. Roughly six times more expensive than the automatic's forged-steel rods, the lightweight material reduces reciprocating mass, further improving engine response for manual buyers.

To make the manual version financially feasible, Cadillac uses what it calls "additive manufacturing." That's marketing spin for "some of the parts are 3-D printed." In addition to manual-specific HVAC ducting around the center console, the shift-pattern medallion on top of the shifter comes from a 3-D printer. If you're wondering about burning your hand on the shifter's H-pattern, engineers went so far as to add additional material below the metal trim to draw heat away and avoid burning the driver on hot days. Cadillac patented the desig