CT6-V

Make
Cadillac
Segment
Sedan

Cadillac has made it known that its wonderful 4.2-liter twin-turbo Blackwing V8 will not be shared with any other GM brand. So far, the 550-horsepower Blackwing has only been utilized for the limited edition Cadillac CT6-V, but what about future Caddies? Surely Cadillac didn't build the Blackwing for a single model? Sadly, that may be the case. Motor Trend has learned through highly placed GM sources the Blackwing V8 may be an "orphan." There's no plan to use it in the upcoming Cadillac CT5, which will slot above the CT5-V, nor in either the XT6 or next-generation Escalade.

The CT5 and XT6 were originally envisioned riding on the CT6's Omega rear-wheel-drive platform. Doing so would have made Blackwing installation fairly simple and, equally important, cost-effective. But cost-cutting measures forced Cadillac to drop the Omega platform for both models.

The more powerful CT5 is instead rumored to receive the 6.2-liter LT4 supercharged V8, the same engine powering the outgoing C7 Corvette Z06 and Cadillac CTS-V. In the latter, it produces a whopping 640 hp and, as the report claims, this could be increased to 670 hp. The case of the XT6 is quite different. Because it rides on an older front-wheel-drive platform, adding a high-powered V8 is simply impossible.

This leaves us with the Blackwing's last transplant hope, the next Escalade. Turns out it won't receive the Blackwing either, again due to cost. GM instead chose to invest funds to develop the new independent rear suspension for the next Escalade, Chevrolet Tahoe, and GMC Yukon. Expect the new Cadillac, likely due for 2021, to continue to make use of Chevy's pushrod V8.

There's no confirmation which variant it'll have, but Chevy offers 5.3-, 6.2-, and 6.6-liter pushrod V8s. The current Escalade comes powered with a 6.2-liter V8 making 420 hp and 460 lb-ft. Eventually, an all-electric Escalade will happen. Along with the expensive independent rear suspension program, GM and Cadillac are heavily investing in new technologies, specifically for electric vehicles and related systems.

As brilliant as the Blackwing V8 is, it's simply failing to find its place within Cadillac's upcoming new models.