Car Review: 2025 Cadillac CT5 V Blackwing

A couple of decades ago, I worked with a fellow enthusiast in the automotive leasing business who financed classic and special interest cars. The company’s owner had discovered that vehicles that appreciated in value versus depreciated was a good business plan. We would often have an interesting car for sale in our showroom and I vividly recall a special Mercedes SL. This was a tan over dark blue European model, powered by a twin-cam six connected to a five-speed manual transmission. It was a stunning, lightweight sports roadster that we were sure an enthusiast would cherish.

A young, well-heeled car guy fell in love with the SL and quickly posted a deposit. The next day he returned with his wife who was also smitten until she discovered the gear shift lever and clutch pedal. I’m sure her exclamation “a Mercedes with a stick shift!” could be heard all the way to the street. And I knew that deal was toast.

I recount this tale because something very similar must happen in one of today’s Cadillac stores when the wrong prospect encounters the CT5 V Blackwing, a rare luxury sports sedan with a Tremec six-speed gearbox along with a clutch pedal. After all, General Motors pioneered the automatic transmission 85 years ago, later followed by luxuries like air conditioning and climate control. So if you’re after a big, luxury sports sedan that engages both your right hand and left foot, this Cadillac is your choice. Of course, if you prefer the Caddy to do the shifting, a precision ten-speed is also available.

Our test Blackwing is just what red-blooded enthusiasts would wish for in a $124,000 price tag. A hand-built 6.2-liter 668 HP V8 signed by builder Mike Ward is nestled under the Typhoon Green Metallic hood. The snarling petrol powerplant is bolted securely to a wonderful six-speed manual transmission, driving the rear wheels just as the God of Speed intended. 

Driving this big fella is a family ticket to an automotive amusement park. More than half throttle inputs will smoke the tires in the first couple of gears. I’m not sure if you can break traction in higher gears at full throttle — I refrained from that exploration. But when the press materials enthuse that more than 200 MPH is available, I have no reason to doubt that claim.

Of course speed isn’t everything. You can still find a Dodge Charger Scat Pack for sale with 630 HP for half our CT5’s MSRP. Then you’ll own a perfectly good muscle car, but not a competent rival to the Mercedes-Benz AMG S 63 E or BMW’s M5 and Audi’s RS 7. That’s right, this Cadillac easily keeps company with those German luxury luminaries and tops them in a few categories, including the ability to row through gears if one so chooses.

For good measure, I entered the Cadillac in a local car show to see how fellow enthusiasts might react. The verdict was unanimous. They loved the bold new style, the Typhoon Metallic green paint, the carbon-ceramic brakes, lovely interior with carbon fiber seats, and that hand-built engine. And not one seemed to faint when they looked at the window sticker I dutifully posted.

Type Front engine, rear-wheel drive
Engine 6.2-liter Turbocharged V8
Horsepower 668 @ 6,400 RPM
Torque 659 lb-ft @ 3,600 RPM  
Base Price $95,595
As Tested $124,005
Fuel Consumption 13 city, 20 highway, 15 combined