Cadillac V-Series News

Cadillac is excited to announce the kickoff of their yearlong campaign to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of V-Series. The celebration will begin at this weekend’s IMSA Weather Tech SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship races at Sebring in honor of where the V-Series sub-brand started. The 20th anniversary celebration will conclude at Sebring in March 2024 – 20 years after the first CTS-V raced and won on the track. More information about the anniversary will be shared on Cadillac.com and the Cadillac V-Series Instagram account throughout the year.

The Cadillac V-Club will be front and center in this celebration. Beginning March 15, at 11:00AM EST, you can join the celebration by visiting the following link:

https://cadillac.com/world-of-cadillac/performance/20-years-of-v-series

From here, Cadillac will celebrate significant moments and milestones together. This is really a celebration for their most enthusiastic customers – you! We are excited to celebrate with all of you!

Cadillac looks forward to celebrating this iconic luxury performance sub-brand with you throughout the coming year. To view the press release announcing this celebration please visit the following link:

https://media.cadillac.com/media/us/en/cadillac/home.html

Available to ship today from OK Petroleum, Cadillac V-Club Preferred Partner. Login to the members only section of CadillacVClub.com to obtain your discount code.

This year marks the 120th Anniversary of the Cadillac brand. To celebrate, Cadillac is proud to expand the Collector’s Series with the introduction of the 2023 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing 120th Anniversary Edition.

The 120th Anniversary Edition is limited to 120 cars, each uniquely numbered with a year in Cadillac’s history. Car 1902, the first in this new Collector’s Series, represents the founding year of Cadillac.

The opportunity to own the first 120th Anniversary Edition raised $250,000 at the Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach auction. Cadillac donated the full hammer price to the SAE Foundation, whose goal is to increase access to world-class STEM experiences for students around the world. As they do with all charity sales, Barrett-Jackson waived all fees and commissions for the auction of Car 1902.

“Everyone at Cadillac is thrilled with this auction result. We proudly support the SAE Foundation and are grateful to Barrett-Jackson for providing this opportunity,” said Rory Harvey, vice president, Global Cadillac. “We will help create a new sustainability focused challenge for high-school students across the country, as well as provide hands-on immersive STEM learning for students in under-resourced communities.”

The Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing 120th Anniversary Edition celebrates Cadillac’s 120-year heritage as an iconic luxury brand, with exclusive features that make each vehicle a one-of-one creation:

• VIN serialization of commemorative year between 1902-2022
• Unique sill plate with the Cadillac Crest design from commemorative year
• B-pillar builders’ plate with graphic and commemorative year
• Shifter medallion (for cars equipped with manual transmission) with 120th anniversary commemoration
• Steering wheel plate with commemorative year
• Certificate of authenticity
• Spring Mountain V-Performance Academy driving experience

“The second edition of the Collector’s Series celebrates storytelling and craftsmanship for the discerning individual,” said Brandon Vivian, Cadillac executive chief engineer. “The 120th Anniversary of Cadillac is represented by unique content celebrating each individual year in the 120 years of Cadillac innovation.”

Henry Leland founded Cadillac in 1902, and his expertise in advanced machining revolutionized the auto industry to establish the brand as the Standard of the World. Through the decades, Cadillac defined new standards in design, technological innovation and quality to cement its status as an American luxury icon.

Bred to perform on and off the track

Leveraging the brand’s championship-winning racing heritage to create the most track-capable Cadillacs ever built, the V-Series Blackwing models represent the pinnacle of Cadillac performance, technology and craftsmanship.

The CT5-V Blackwing is the most powerful and fastest Cadillac production model in history — with a top track speed of more than 200 mph — while the CT4-V Blackwing is the most powerful and fastest-ever Cadillac subcompact.

Under their hoods, the CT5-V Blackwing uses an upgraded and hand-assembled 6.2L supercharged V-8 rated at 668 horsepower (498 kW) and 659 lb-ft of torque (893 Nm), while an evolution of the Cadillac 3.6L Twin-Turbo V-6 drives the CT4-V Blackwing, rated at 472 hp (352 kW) and 445 lb-ft of torque (603 Nm).

Every V-Series Blackwing offers a standard six-speed manual gearbox or an available 10-speed paddle-shift automatic transmission. Both models also feature advanced, extensively track- and road-tested high-performance braking systems. The CT5-V Blackwing features the largest factory-installed brakes in Cadillac history, along with an available lightweight carbon-ceramic brake package that offers weight savings, durability and heat management.

SOURCE: Cadillac Pressroom

The newest hidden elements on the CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing represent the union of Cadillac engineering and design!

The new CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing, the most track-capable Cadillac models ever, began their path to production at General Motors’ testing and technical centers in Milford and Warren, Michigan, respectively. Designers paid homage to those crucial sites with laser-etched maps of each located on pads that sit to left and right of the steering wheel on manual-transmission models.

The maps are among a myriad of hidden elements to be found on the luxury performance sedans.

The Milford Proving Ground map represents the thorough engineering development that led to two of the fastest and most powerful Cadillacs ever. The Warren Tech Center map represents the on-campus Design team’s focal point on craftsmanship and functional elegance. The serialized V-Series badge at the bottom of the steering wheel represents a car specially manufactured for the customer by the team at GM Lansing Grand River Assembly.

“The CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing are the quintessential examples of form and function coming together,” said Brandon Vivian, executive chief engineer, Cadillac. “This was made possible by Engineering and Design working together from the very beginning to get the most out of these cars. The steering wheel pads symbolize that union, with the customer at the center of it all.”

The customer representation comes on the steering wheel with each customer getting a unique serialized V-Series plaque that identifies their specific vehicle.

The pads take the place of the shift paddles behind the steering wheel on cars not equipped with the optional 10-speed automatic transmission. The vehicles with the automatic transmission still include their functional magnesium paddle shifters, allowing drivers to select their preferred gear.

“The V-Series Blackwings are all about connecting with drivers in ways that go beyond the numbers they can produce on a track,” said Vivian. “It’s an involving experience, with unprecedented attention to detail in all areas of performance and design.”  

Indeed, those map details are only two of the more than two dozen subtle, discreet and outright hidden visual references to the V-Series brand and Cadillac’s racing heritage.

Some of them are more obvious such as the V-Series logo and its unique Mondrian pattern that’s incorporated on the manual shift knob, or the Blackwing winged emblem that’s found in a pocket of each available 19-inch Tech Bronze wheel.

Others, however, are more difficult to locate, such as the Mondrian pattern on the underwing of the vehicle or V-Series logo on the air strakes that come with the optional Carbon Fiber 1 package. Others will not be revealed, leaving each owner to discover the myriad of surprising and delightful details.

Additionally, the first 250 production builds of each model are Collector Series vehicles, and they’re commemorated by the people who built them with two special collector plates on the sills and B-pillars. Each sill plate features the signature from a member of the Cadillac V-Series team while the Collector Series plate found on the B-pillar corresponds to the serialized Performance Steering Wheel in each car.

Also, the CT5-V Blackwing’s hand-built supercharged V-8 engine features a signed plaque from the master builder.

“The driving experience of these special models never fails to impress,” said Vivian. “And the more you look inside, outside and even below the surface, the more they reward.”

The 2022 CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing are on sale now with limited availability. The CT4-V Blackwing starts at an MSRP of $59,990¹ and fully configured MSRP at $87,775¹. The CT5-V Blackwing has a starting MSRP of $84,990¹ and a fully configured MSRP of $125,980¹. Customers can build their own V-Series Blackwing online at Cadillac.com.

Milford Proving Ground

The Milford Proving Ground opened in 1924 as the industry's first dedicated automobile testing facility. Since then it has grown to nearly four times its original size. Today it offers multiple testing tracks and road courses, as well as numerous facilities dedicated to vehicle development, safety testing, competitive benchmarking and more.

GM Global Technical Center

The Warren Tech Center in Michigan, also referred to as the General Motors Global Technical Center, is recognized as the preeminent innovation center for automotive engineering, design and advanced technology. Here, the world’s best designers and engineers come together to help redefine the future of transportation. The 710-acre campus in southeast Michigan is home to over 21,000 employees.

The Tech Center opened in 1956 and is currently recognized as a National Historic Landmark.

¹Listed price includes $995 destination charge. Tax, title, license, dealer fees and optional equipment are extra.

It’s official – the highly anticipated Cadillac V-Series Blackwing has received Ship to Commerce!

Over 15 months ago we announced the fourth generation V-Series sub-brand will carry the Blackwing name, and now the pinnacle of Cadillac performance, technology and design are leaving Lansing Grand River Assembly and on their way to dealerships.

As you’re aware the initial 250 of each CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing are for the participants in the reservation program.  With these enthusiastic customers seeking information we encourage the field and dealers to engage with their reservation customers and keep them appraised of the status of their V-Series Blackwing and share exciting information (like VIN) when assigned.

While initial vehicles may be shipping we know the question dealers/you can expect “When will mine be delivered?”  So we’re all aligned on a response, our consistent recommended response is: While we cannot commit to exact production/delivery dates, we have communicated the estimated delivery beginning in late Summer (i.e. end of September).  Your dealer will have your individual vehicle status based on their event code in Order Work Bench.

Here's a truckload of Blackwings that arrived at Sewell Cadillac of Dallas on Monday, August 9.

Cadillac’s fastest-ever sub-compact sport sedan, along with the supercharged CT5-V Blackwing, leverages latest aero-development technology to optimize performance

With a Cadillac-estimated top speed of 189 mph and track-tailored chassis and suspension features, the 2022 CT4-V Blackwing is a quantifiably quick performance sedan. Its available carbon fiber packages deliver exceptional agility and confidence thanks to the reduction of lift and the increase of downforce they produce.

Both available aero packages were developed using a new five-belt rolling-road wind tunnel at the GM Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, as well as the Windshear wind tunnel used by Cadillac Racing in North Carolina. The result is the highest level of aerodynamic downforce ever produced by a Cadillac V-Series production car.

“Aero performance was key to helping deliver the uniquely agile, engaging driving experience in the CT4-V Blackwing,” said Scott Sier, aerodynamics performance engineer, Cadillac. “Thanks to components like the underwing, we were able to work with design to generate downforce without the use of large wings that didn’t fit with the design.”

The available aero packages are inspired by the multiple-championship-winning Cadillac Racing DPi-V.R race car. Over 500 hours of wind tunnel testing and 300 simulations using advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics technology honed the Carbon Fiber packages on CT4-V Blackwing. The use of Virtual Reality headsets also allowed Cadillac engineers to identify opportunities in real-time to exploit additional aerodynamic efficiencies.

The five-belt rolling road wind tunnel at the GM Technical Center allows engineers to spend more time fine-tuning aerodynamic components on full-size vehicles. The five belts provide a more accurate simulation of under-vehicle airflow than previous-generation wind tunnels.

“We set out to create a capable and balanced performance sedan not just with mechanical grip, but aerodynamically as well,” said Tony Roma, chief engineer, Cadillac V-Series Blackwing. “With the CT4-V Blackwing we create net downforce that is incredibly rare in production vehicles. What this means is that the car gets pressed down into the road the faster you go, giving it more grip, greater stability and inspiring the driver to confidently explore its full capabilities. Not only have we produced our most track-capable sub-compact sedan ever, but we continue to work with our racing counterparts to explore the limits of physics to make better cars.”

Aerodynamic components include:

• Front underwing
• • Inspired by the Cadillac DPi-V.R race car, the front underwing creates a low pressure zone that helps press the car into the road and directs air to cool critical components.
  • Air strakes control airflow, directing air away from the underbody, helping create downforce and balance the vehicle.
• Front dive planes
• • Increase grip to front tires by pushing the front down.
  • A 18 mm sidewall controls air and directs vortices downstream to better manage airflow.

  
  

• Rear spoiler
• • Integrated to balance the car for greater stability.
  • Curvature tuned for the creation of downforce without the addition of bolt on components.
  • Features a functional 3 mm Gurney flap that helps direct airflow and assists in creating more downforce.
    
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• V-Series Blackwing grille mesh
• • Radius of each V-shaped inlet tuned to optimize airflow.
  • Each V-shaped inlet features two different functional textures to control and direct air.
• Brake cooling ducts
• • 3D-printed in the General Motors Additive Manufacturing facility, these ducts keep the front and rear rotors cool even in extreme track conditions.
  • Function as a foil to direct air more efficiently around front control arms.
• Fender vents
• • Front fender vents release pressure built up within the front wheel well to reduce lift and drag.
  • Aid in removing hot air from the engine bay.
    
    
    
    
• Front splitter, rocker moldings and extensions, and rear diffuser
• • Help reduce lift and balance the vehicle at high speeds.
    
    
    
    
• Flat underbody
• • Body panels help with airflow management.
• Rear control arm covers
• • Prevent air from building up around rear wheel well and control arms.

• Front dive planes
• Underwing strakes
• Extra-aero front splitter
• Front wheel deflectors
• Extra-aero rear spoiler

• Rocker extensions
• Rear valance diffuser