The Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing Is The Last V8 Sedan With A Manual And Now It Looks Even Better

2025 Ct5 V Ct5 V Blackwing Driving Ts8
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The Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing is a strange car. It’s awesome, but also surprisingly forgotten. The last of the old-school supersedans, it stays bubbling in the background, a white-hot ball of quiet rage. However, as the regular CT5 gets a facelift for 2025, so does the Blackwing, and it’s trying a bit harder to stand out. GM investing in updating niche product? What a lovely surprise.

In case you aren’t familiar with the Cadillac CT5-V and CT5-V Blackwing, the former is a turbocharged V6 sports sedan with available all-wheel-drive, while the latter is a 668-horsepower supercharged V8 psychopath that lets you row your own gears. For 2025, those two models are getting a little more distinct.

The most obvious change is a unique front fascia that should visually differentiate the awesome CT5-V Blackwing from the more everyday CT5-V. The easiest mark of distinction? Running mascara from the headlights to the lower grille. Speaking of grilles, they grow even larger for 2025, another distinguishing mark between Blackwing and mere V. Ready to test yourself? In this pic, the regular CT5-V is farther from the camera, while the Blackwing is up close.

2025 Ct5-V & Ct5-V Blackwing Driving

If you’re looking for a pop of color, Cadillac has a fantastic new green called Typhoon Metallic, along with three other bold colors: Cyber Yellow Tintcoat, Coastal Blue Metallic, and Radiant Red Tintcoat. Those looking for something more demure but still interesting, Drift Metallic is a blue-silver that seems somewhat reminiscent of BMW’s Bluewater Metallic.

2025 Ct5 V Blackwing Dash Cc

 

Aside from cosmetic tweaks, the real upgrades to the 2025 Cadillac CT5-V and CT5-V Blackwing are on the inside, where these performance models adopt the 33-inch LED display seen in the standard CT5. Sure, this means that it does have a questionable illuminated logo on the backside of the screen, but it also means that the interior looks its price point. Whether or not the tech will age well, it’s hard to say, but it’s certainly a step up from the old setup.

2025 Ct5 V Blackwing 6.2l Supercharged V 8 Cc

 

The thing is, Cadillac didn’t really need to update the CT5-V Blackwing because it’s the last manual V8 sports sedan on sale, and Cadillac is proud of it. The brand stated that when it comes to the CT5-V Blackwing, “Over 50 percent of our buyers out there are selecting the manual transmission.” Hell yeah. We probably aren’t getting any more new sedans like this, so better savor the flavor while you have the chance.

2025 Ct5-V Blackwing Front 3 4

We can only hope that the CT4-V Blackwing lives long enough to see a similar facelift. Cadillac is going all-electric by 2030, which means the lifecycles of these sports sedans are finite. Regardless of what happens with the CT5-V Blackwing’s little brother, let’s celebrate these sedans while they’re still around.

(Photo credits: Cadillac)

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60 thoughts on “The Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing Is The Last V8 Sedan With A Manual And Now It Looks Even Better”

  2. As the owner of a 1st gen naturally aspirated CTS-V since 2010, I totally dig this. When I bought mine back in the day, I thought to myself that manual V8 RWD would be extinct in a few years. I was wrong obviously!!! Years back I did the traditional cam, headers, injectors, tune, etc. and put out 426 at the rear wheels. This thing has to be a beast! Currently, I run through one set of rear tires a year with this. It would have to be at least three lol ???? And the Cadillac interiors have always been generic/weird but I don’t even turn the radio on and wouldn’t in this either!

  3. The thing looks overwrought and a decade or so past current practice. Probably a hoot to drive though. At least it doesn’t have a giant tablet glued to the dash amongst all the other switches, buttons, do dabs and gee-gaws. The interior reminds me of an 2012 Acura TSX… black with lotsa buttons.

    3. There’s a CTS in my area with a dark red carriage top, racing stripes in a lighter shade of red, and a big wrx esque wing spoiler also in a different shade of red. It’s a bit much to say the least.

  7. OK, so this is the “Blackwing” car, but without the “Blackwing” engine. That only went in a different car, the CT-6, now out of production. This is the CT-5, but the decklid letters look like “CTS,” which, you guessed it, is a different model Cadillac, now out of production. I could see how prospective buyers may get confused.

    Despite the confusing naming, the product remains dedicated to its mission: To rebel against its brand heritage by trying to out-German ze Germans, but with a worse interior. Not sure I’d buy a modern Caddy, but I enjoy them when available on the rental lot.

    1. It wouldn’t be so confusing if they hadn’t changed the naming. I could live with ATS and CTS but now I’m just confused. I think an ATS is a CT4 and a CTS is a CT5 but who knows

  8. In my 40 or-so years of being obsessed with cars, there is no other car I have wanted more, period. I have a 2012 CTS, and it’s simply amazing, even though it’s the base base model. While I am a wagon guy for life, and always will be, this sedan is the next best thing.

    Between this, and the possible M5 Wagon. The ONLY two cars I would ever possibly consider buying new in my life.

    I love love love this car so much. I lay in bed at night thinking about it. Wish I could just drive one for a while to get this out of my system. Who am I kidding, it will never be out of my system.

  9. Surprisingly forgotten because every single one was sold at a gross markup to a boomer and has been sitting in a garage slowly accumulating the number of miles it takes to drive to 2 local car shows per year. Cadillac the brand is killing itself trying to be special. Just sell the cars you can build, guys, or I’ll keep spending Cadillac money on used Porsches.

    1. Actually the CT5 is the highest selling model for all of Caddy globally.

      From today’s Detroit News:

      “The CT5 lineup has ridden the notoriety of the Blackwing model — which more than holds its own with cyborgs like the BMW M4 — to become the best-selling vehicles in Cadillac’s lineup worldwide.”

      1. I guess it functioned as an advertising piece, then. Personally, I would never get a car that “has ridden the notoriety of [another car].” The Detroit News piece is a pretty blatant regurgitation of a company press release. My problem with GM for years and years, now (and my family is a GM family, so I have actually tried to improve my relationship with the company), is that they will make a couple of interesting cars, but you can’t have them. CT5-V Blackwing is an interesting car, no doubt. I could just go buy an M4, but they won’t even let me sit in a damn Blackwing and will talk about its collector value like somehow that’s going to entice me into a CT5.

        1. It’s speaking as how the different spec levels have more panache because of how tits the Blackhawk is. That’s a bad thing to you? I’m confused.

          Also, my Caddy dealer always has at least a V or 2 on the floor, so maybe you are going to the wrong dealer?

    1. I’ve been thinking a bit more about it since the last post, and I’ve decided that the CT5-V (non-Blackwing) with the AWD would be ideal. I don’t really care about the stick as it’d be for around the town/cruising the highway, and the fact that it can be had for somewhere around $50-$55k w/my GM discount is sooo good. There isn’t a better sedan at that price anywhere.

  15. If I had an unlimited budget I’d have one of these in my driveway, and I’d even suck up driving a manual in DC for one because I think you have to go stick when it comes to Blackwings if for no other reason than it’s actually on offer. That 10 speed is nice when tuned for performance applications but if you want an automatic sport sedan just get something German.

    The more reasonably priced CT4V BW will be firmly in my sights in a couple of years. We’ll see how much longer they make it, but used ones are already dipping into the 50s and for some reason the transmission doesn’t seem to alter the value that much. For god knows what reason people don’t seem to be going too crazy for the Blackwings, and it’s a goddamn shame because they’re spectacular cars.

    I’d take either over the German competition without thinking twice. But anyway…my dream that will never come true is that GM will put an LT1 in the CT4V BW one way or another. It’s such a goddamn shame that that car is saddled with an overboosted V6 when one of the best V8s on the market is just sitting there and makes essentially the same power.

    Oh well. What can you do. I’ve been meaning to test drive a Blackwing but I’m sure I’ll wind up leaving with one if I do and the wife will be summarily displeased….

    1. The CT4-V Blackwing well and truly rustles my jimmies. I tried to squeeze the Cadillac person at the Petit Le Mans pavilion to tease out – is MY2025 the last one? But of course that went nowhere, and I’ve got a dream on mental layaway.

      Also, bring back orange.

      1. I mean it’s a pretty perfect enthusiast car if you’re someone who has a lot of responsibilities. The Alpha platform is unbelievably good but most of us couldn’t make a Camaro and its tank-like visibility work as a daily. A CT4V BW gives you all the fun and engagement in a very usable package. It also harkens back to what most folks consider the golden age of sports sedans…the early 2000s.

        You can row your own, it’s rear wheel drive only, you can get it sideways to your heart’s content, really my only complaint is that it isn’t a V8. But hey…at least it’s not a turbo 4 or some sort of weird hybrid. They’re also track capable out of the box which is a big deal for me personally.

        And the price? If you go light on the options (IMHO the only way to buy one) you’re looking at the low 60s, which significantly undercuts the German competition. It’ll put an M3, C63, RS5, etc. to shame for $20,000 less.

        What’s not to love? It’s damn near perfect. I hope they make them in 2025 and beyond but for some reason people just don’t seem to be buying them, which is a shame. I think the types of folks who buy or lease sports sedans tend to be very image conscious and the Cadillac badge just doesn’t impress onlookers/your Instagram followers like the roundel or the auto union rings do.

        1. I shopped these a little while back versus the obvious competition. They wouldn’t take me seriously as a buyer, which is a huge turn-off. If kissing ass in a Caddy dealership is part of the price, it’s a hard no. I wound up with a GTS Boxster, and no asses kissed. The attitude surrounding GM near-exotica is just so egregiously toxic I don’t even want to walk in the door, anymore. Speaking as a guy who would have been happy to spend that money and didn’t.

            1. In a sense it clearly is a “me” problem. I’ve walked into a Ferrari dealer and people tried to sell me a Ferrari. Toyota. Jag. Porsche. I’ve walked into a Ford dealer and people tried to sell me a Ford. Walk into a GM dealer interested in a specific car? “That’s spoken for.” “That’s not what I’d put you in.” Fuck them and and their bigotry. Just sayin’.

  16. I’m sorry but in what world does this look good? On the outside it’s a confused, over-styled Honda Accord with I’m-not-as-young-as-I-used-to-be smile lines in the form of lights. Oof but that interior: The steering wheel is a pillow airbag that looked outdated in Bush’s first term, and that infotainment system still looks like the failure that was CUE. The engine and manual combo sounds great but not if that’s the car I have to be in to get it.

    1. You can get the exact same engine and transmission combination in a Camaro ZL1. It’s less expensive too. Shockingly so actually, I see ZL1s in the low to mid 50s pretty frequently and it’s a ridiculous amount of performance for that price. So in conclusion…quit yer bitchin!

  17. Looks like they finally added some black wings to the front design. Now if only they put the LT1/LT2 and the Tremec in the CT5 V instead of the 3.0 TT V6 10-Speed only. Then you could have clear performance steps from the base to the V to the V Blackwing.

    That would also help the CT4 lineup stand apart, with the base model getting the turbo 2.0, the sport trims getting the turbo 2.7, then you could have the CT4 V getting the turbo 3.0 (add the manual option here too) and keep the turbo 3.6 in the Blackwing.

    The marketing could be, Cadillac V-Series: The Ultimate Drivers’ Machines

    2. The fact that the lower V’s (2.7T CT4 and 3.0TT CT5) don’t come in a stick is a travesty. I get the desire for a turbo charged lineup even though I disagree with it, but the lack of manual is just silly.

  18. This update was needed. I sat in a 2023 CT5 at the auto show this year and was shocked by how outdated the interior felt compared to all the other freshened GM products. This looks much more appropriate for the pricepoint. Glad they are sticking with a manual option too.

    1. I did the same thing. Going between the new Escalade and the CT5 was absolutely mind-blowing that they were the same model year from the same manufacturer.

  19. Looks really good to me; that front end nicely channels the look of Cadillac’s IMSA GTP class racers. I’m such a sucker for racing connections like that (and that Cadillac is still doing it…you broke my heart Mazda!)

    1. Absolutely, I think this is a big selling point to me. It’s also a sedan, not a WWII pillbox on wheels like the Camaro.

      If there was a wagon, I’d be talking to the bank right now, promising to have a job before the first payment is due.

      1. And post-XLR skittishness aside, tell me it wouldn’t look sharp as a (now-rare) personal coupe too?

        Given Caddy’s already bucking the trends with the manual, why no go all out and bust all the conventions for the final ICE hurrah?

  20. “Cadillac is going all-electric by 2030”

    But are they, really? I imagine auto company boardrooms are collectively shitting themselves over that pledge every time they get another EV sales report. The big automakers’ actions show they don’t want to sell EVs, at least right now, but they do want credit for selling them. I also think they are hedging their bets for the very real possibility of Trump 2.0.

    1. There’s always a caveat. “All electric by 2030” could mean “the only ‘new’ models we’re going to release after 2030 are electric.” I’d imagine most of the major automakers have some contingencies to majorly refresh their current ICE catalog before the self-imposed deadline so they can still make money in the transition.

    2. I don’t think any of them ever believed they’d be all-electric by 2030. It was performative, and they’re counting on two things to get away with it:
      1) Nobody will remember/care they said it by 2030.
      2) They’ll have pulled the rip cord on their golden parachutes by then and it will be someone else’s problem.

    1. LOL good catch. Press images are often touched up, sometimes to an unrealistic degree. You’ll never find glare in clusters, LED flickering, or stuff like that. I’d guess that whoever was in charge of these shots ‘shopped in the gauge cluster but forgot to delete PRNDM.

      1. You’ll never find glare in clusters

        Oh, I beg to differ. In the age of giant reflective screens without any kind of shading, even the press photos have glare a lot of the time. Pretty soon they’re going to start selling screen glare as a feature – “Comes with built-in alertness system that shines sunlight directly into your eyeballs so you can’t fall asleep while using dangerous driver assist tools”. 🙂

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