The compact sports sedan market is on a downward trend, in both luxury and non-luxury brackets, but the main players, BMW, Mercedes and Cadillac are building their best products ever. And the 2024 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing, the fastest version of the company's compact luxury sedan, might be the best of them all.
Cadillac was an also-ran in the sports sedan segment until it brought the letter V into its alphabet 20 years ago on the CTS. It was a simple plan, put a Corvette engine in a sedan with a manual transmission and let the chips fall where they may. It worked, and put Cadillac back on the radar of performance vehicle enthusiasts.
That led to the Blackwing, which was originally an engine, but is now a nameplate for its fastest vehicles in the CT4 and CT5 lineups. The CT5-V Blackwing continues with the Corvette engine while this CT4 houses a more reasonable twin-turbocharged six-cylinder.
The CT4-V Blackwing was designed and developed at GM's upgraded rolling-road wind tunnel. It comes with a new grille design that improves airflow over the previous generation. Secondary reeds behind the grille direct airflow to the main radiators, cooler and airflow ducts. Secondary ducts send air to the charge coolers while the lower grilles direct air to the brakes as this car is made to be driven on the track. The Blackwing's front splitter reduces lift at high speeds, balanced by the rear spoiler. Rocker extensions give it a ground-hugging look.
The CT4-V looks aggressive with its masked front end though it doesn't look as wide or low as the CT5-V Blackwing because the CT4 is smaller in all dimensions. However, that makes everything easier: driving, parking, filling up with gas. The top Blackwing model offers seven choices for wheel, all of which show off the painted brake calipers.
The Blackwing is the most powerful and fastest Cadillac ever in the subcompact class with a turbocharged six-cylinder making 472 horsepower (hp) and 445 pound-feet (lb-ft) of torque. A six-speed manual transmission is standard while a 10-speed automatic is available with paddle shifters on the steering wheel.
This amount of horsepower, though immense, is livable in daily driving, even in the snow if all-season or winter tires are attached. It has modes for Normal, Sport, Race and Snow with the appropriate level of traction control for all situations. It also has My Mode, which allows owners to customize the steering, brakes, suspension and sound.
The CT4-V Blackwing is impressive in every gear, but third gear, from about 40 to 80 mph, is sublime both in thrust and sound. The shifter is smooth and easy to find gears and the 3D-printed topper is a cool touch. The clutch pedal effort is a little too light, which necessitated a little recalibration of the foot and ankle. However, in stop-and-go traffic it makes for easy work.
The acceleration in the competing 503-hp BMW M3 is just as brutal as the Blackwing, though its inline six-cylinder has a more monotone engine note compared to this twin-turbo V6. Between its tires and stiffer suspension that M3 is also harsher over less-than-perfect highways, even in its softer modes.
The fourth-generation Magnetic Ride Control on the Cadillac, however, is perfectly tailored to the Midwest's broken roads in its Tour mode. Only the biggest potholes upset the chassis or send sound into the cabin. In Sport the steering and suspension get more aggressive. The electronically adjustable brakes are firm and confident in that mode.
The Mercedes-AMG C63 also delivers 503-horsepower, and may have the widest adjustment in its feel between its Comfort and sportiest driving mode. It's cabin also feels the most luxurious out of the three.
The cabin in the CT4 is available with high-performance seats (a $5,000 option that's expensive but makes the seats look like a trendy new sneaker). They feature a slim headrest design to comfortably accommodate helmets when at the track, along with the V-Series logos and more thigh support on the bottoms. In practice they work perfectly, holding a driver snug through sweeping turns.
The carbon-fiber-trimmed steering wheel includes a quick-access V-Mode button and Performance Traction Management switch that adjusts the level of traction control. On automatic models it also includes magnesium shift paddles. Each comes with a serialized number plate that corresponds with each vehicle's unique VIN sequence.
An AKG sound system is standard with 14 speakers with brushed aluminum grilles with etching. The navigation system was finicky in that it was told to find a barber shop while on Metro Detroit's main Woodward Avenue and instead of the six locations within a few miles it showed locations in Pennsylvania and Illinois. I instantly went back to Apple CarPlay and Google Maps.
The rear seat area is midsized and fine for two elementary schoolers in booster seats. The seat belt latches are stiff and easy for kids to buckle up.
All Cadillac CT4-V Blackwings come standard with automatic emergency braking, forward collision alert, front pedestrian braking, adaptive cruise control, safety alert seat, which reminds you if something is left in the back, rear park assist and a rear vision camera.
The Blackwing tested here has a base price of $61,495. With included options like the seats, suede wheel, Performance Data Recorder and a few other features it has an as-tested price of $72,535. The top-of-the-line Cadillac is priced well, next to the competition in the $76,995 BMW M3 and the $83,000 Mercedes-AMG C63.
Both of those offer more power, though the Mercedes does not offer a manual. And both of those German luxury haulers may be faster on a track, by a second or two. But the CT4-V Blackwing's combination of price after options, power and comfort when it counts make it hard to ignore, even among those legends.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jake Lingeman is the Managing Editor for the Autos team at Newsweek. He has previously worked for Autoweek, The Detroit ... Read more
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