On A Blackwing And A Prayer

The first—and probably last—drive of Cadillac’s latest super sedan

- Todd Lassa

PICTURE THIS. A twin-turbo V-8-powered Cadillac roars onto California’s Streets of Willow raceway amid the likes of the latest Porsche 911, all-new Toyota Supra, and the massively hyped mid-engine C8 Corvette. Having just driven the 550-horsepower CT6-V on a stretch of curvy, hilly two-lanes north of the Capital Beltway in the wilds of Maryland, we’re confident it would make its way around the 13-turn, 1.6-mile Willow circuit with the kind of fiery composure that would earn it a 2020 Automobile All-Star award.

Finally, another American car that would help provide an antidote to editor-in-chief Mike Floyd’s lament (Editor’s Letter, May 2019) that too few domestic-branded cars and sport utilities are interesting enough to even earn an invite to our annual #noboringcars runoff.

But sadly, almost as soon as it got here on the back of Cadillac’s all-new Blackwing 4.2-liter twin-turbo V-8, the CT6-V—and all CT6 models for that matter save a China-only plug-in hybrid version—is already on the way out of production. Although we’re hoping to have it on hand for this year’s All-Stars competition, barring a minor miracle, this will be the only model year for the CT6-V, and from what we’ve experienced of it thus far, that’s a cryin’ shame.

Cadillac unveiled the CT6-V at the 2019 Detroit auto show, and what happened next could only take place in the immediacy of the Internet Age. Because the Detroit/ Hamtramck plant where the CT6 is built was declared “unallocated” a couple of months before the CT6-V was unveiled, it was a lame duck before online order banks even opened. As word spread that the CT6-V was likely to be a one-off, prospective buyers were at their keyboards, poised and ready. The initial 275-unit allocation sold out in two hours.