2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Review

It can be tough being the younger sibling.

The 2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing has to contend with the enormous shadow its CT5-V sibling casts. There’s a raucous yet refined four-door with a stand-out, supercharged V8 soundtrack. It was managing editor Mike Schlee’s favorite vehicle of the year when he drove it last summer. The Four Vee Bee, with 200 less horsepower from a comparatively tame V6, is practically a wallflower, right?

Nope. This more compact package has its own appeal: a tidier footprint makes it more eager, and the associated price savings turn it into something of a performance bargain. And with the manual transmission, the CT4-V Blackwing offers more interaction and joy than many two-door options under six figures, too.

Cadillac debuted this Blackwing pair two years ago. After the confusing roll-out of the regular Vs—now more aligned with the M Sports and the S-badged Audis of the day—the Blackwings were to be the last word on Cadillac performance; literally, in the case of gasoline-powered cars. Without being too reductive, the Blackwings CT4 and CT5 are essentially director’s cuts of the ATS-V and CTS-V, respectively.

The smaller option pairs a 3.6-liter turbocharged V6 with either a 10-speed automatic or the six-speed manual found here. It’s a muscular little six-cylinder, flexing 472 horsepower and 445 pound-feet of torque. For reference, that’s comfortably more than the four-cylinder Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 (382 hp), or the five-cylinder Audi RS3 (401 hp). Both of those come with all-wheel drive, however; while the CT4-V has that option, the Blackwing is a rear-axle-only affair. As it should be.

Simply put: it rips. The Blackwing is wickedly quick, with a responsive go-pedal and minimal turbo lag. There’s power everywhere: lots of low-end stuff, but it doesn’t all peter out as you chase the redline. You’ll want to, since the V6 is a little too mild-mannered for something so potent.

The six-speed is a joy to row through, with tight and well-defined gates. The 3D-printed topper is cool too, even if it can get uncomfortably hot on summer days. The clutch has a longish travel, which is typical for GM, but takes little time to get used to. The powertrain is flexible enough to stay in fourth gear for just about everything, but the action is so fun you’ll find yourself downshifting just for the heck of it. There’s an auto rev-match feature to make that even easier, though I noticed it was inconsistent at city speeds.

The fun comes at a price, too: profligate fuel consumption. Officially, the six-speed CT4-V Blackwing is rated 15 mpg city, 23 mpg highway, and 18 mpg combined. (Canadian figures: 15.2, 10.2, 13.0 L/100 km, respectively.) Unofficially, I did much worse. Sorry, expense department.

The baby Blackwing eggs its driver on through the corners, too. There’s a good amount of weight and feedback from the steering wheel, and those 255s up front give the CT4-V serious bite on turn-in. It’s basically a four-door Camaro, one of the most enjoyable cars to thread down a challenging road. The agility and responsiveness are matched up with surprising compliance, as those trick magnetorheological dampers ensure that the Blackwing is barely more aggressive around town than the regular CT4 I drove earlier in the summer. There’s just more tire noise—a lot of it, really. The different drive modes and PTM settings, including a driver-selectable Custom mode, allows owners to tailor the experience to exactly their tastes.

Take the Blackwing to the track—and you really should, because it’s a blast there—and you’ve got features like no-lift shifting and line lock to really have fun.

As memorable as the Blackwing driving experience is, the cabin can’t measure up. It’s not a bad place by any means; well, maybe it is, if you’re a taller or broader sort of stock and lodged in the back seat. Space is tight back there, but I’d still rather ride in the back of a Blackwing than the BMW M2.

The cockpit design is looking a little dated these days, and material quality isn’t on par with the Germans. There are some cheapish bits along the dashboard and door panels that are hard to square with the Caddy’s price tag, even knowing its performance bent. I have no such issues with the supportive faux-leather seats, though I’d personally spring for whichever options unlock the ventilated thrones. More performance cars need cooled butts!

Like the interior design itself, the Caddy’s small 8.0-inch touchscreen isn’t anything to write home about. Every other competitor boasts a bigger, shinier setup—ones that aren’t visually similar to what you’ll find in a rental Equinox. But what the Blackwing loses in wow factor, it gains in straight-forward ease-of-use. The menus are simple to navigate, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard. There are also plenty of physical buttons, so you can easily rely on muscle memory for most controls.

The digital instrument panel is much better: super crisp, and plenty customizable. This tester also comes equipped with a useful head-up display. One of the more inventive features is the performance data and video recorder, allowing owners to capture all the car’s data (including lap times) to pour over with the Cosworth Toolbox. The 15-speaker AKG sound system is also mighty impressive, if you ever get tired of the six-pot soundtrack.

The CT4-V Blackwing starts at $62,390 ($70,998 CAD), which is an incredible deal for something so capable. Equipment levels are slightly different between Canada and the US; the folks in the North get more basic seats as standard. That means there isn’t an exact match for our $75,873 CAD tester, but you’re looking at roughly $70,000 to match its options, with better seats (including ventilation) to boot.

The CLA 45 and Audi RS3 start around there ($58,950 and $62,795, respectively), but can’t match the Caddy’s athleticism. You could get a well-specced Camaro and gain the V8 noise. But then you’d be driving a Camaro. This or a practically stock M2? The V drives better and—to me, anyway—looks better too.

Is the 2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing the money-no-object Blackwing I desire? Er, no: that’s still the CT5-V, because the drama of that engine outweighs the slight handling penalty.

But the 4 offers a similarly fabulous driving experience a size down, at a significant price advantage. The CT4-V Blackwing is fun and pliant, giving Cadillac the most entertaining sedan in not just one segment, but two. It must be a proud parent.

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