Blackwing lives on, but only in name. The twin-turbo 4.2-liter V8 from which the performance-esque name came was killed off four years ago. And so was the Cadillac CT6 sedan that came with it. The high-performance four-door was a limited-time offer (just two years) before the model was discontinued for the U.S. market. So, we figured it was a tiny take rate for the car/engine combo. We just weren’t expecting it to be teeny tiny.
The Cadillac CT6 was canceled stateside in 2020; however, the specific production numbers for the Blackwing models have only recently been divulged. According to GM Authority, 1,200 Blackwing-equipped CT6 vehicles were built for model years 2019 and 2020. That figure accounts for 11.3 percent of total CT6 units (10,599) during that time period.
Referencing Episode 14 of its Cadillac Society podcast, Alex Luft, founder and executive editor of the GM enthusiast blog, breaks down the production numbers even further. The split was 915 units of the CT6-V and 285 units of the CT6 Platinum. GM Authority notes that the figures are production-specific and unrelated to actual sales, which can differ. Luft says these numbers are smaller than GM’s targeted production plan, which was 1,500 units.
As a reminder, the Blackwing engine was exclusive to Cadillac. The clean-sheet-designed V8 was also the first one developed just for Cadillac since the Northstar V8, which itself was discontinued in 2011. The late, great Blackwing made for the CT6 Platinum produced 500 horsepower and 574 pound-feet of torque. For the CT6-V, the power output increased to 550 hp and 640 lb-ft. The transmission pairing for both was a 10-speed automatic. Power delivery was smooth and refined. This was the engine that was going to push the luxury envelope for Cadillac. But then it was scrapped.
“What it boils down to is poor life choices,” says Luft. “I kid, of course, but it actually kind of sort of is true. I can do an entire episode as to why the Blackwing engine went away.” That episode hasn’t happened (yet), but Luft says it was essentially poor planning on GM’s part. What the automaker wanted to do was no longer what it could do. Eventually, prioritization and investment in electrification would be the final nail in the Blackwing coffin.