Cadillac Not Planning to Share Blackwing Engine

Will Cadillac share the Blackwing engine with other brands?

“Over my dead body,” Cadillac President Steve Carlisle tells us.

The Blackwing is the 4.2-liter twin-turbo V-8 in the Cadillac CT6-V as well as the top trim Premium Luxury CT6. In the V model, it pumps out 550 hp and 627 lb-ft of torque. It is paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission.

This is the first CT6-V in the lineup and is a limited run. The first 275 sold out in two hours. We have now learned Cadillac held a few back so a few more will be available but Carlisle is not saying how many because the number has not been decided. Nor is he saying when they will be offered to prospective buyers.

The Blackwing engine is made in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and is expected to also power top trim levels of the next-generation Escalade which is expected next year as a 2021 model. There will be no Blackwing logo or badging on the exterior of the vehicles.

There has been speculation the Blackwing could end up in a Corvette.

There were also premature reports of the death of the CT6 in general because the Detroit-Hamtramck plant that currently makes it is expected to close as GM chose to no longer allocate any new models to that plant.

But GM has extended CT6 production through January 2020 and that could be extended further. The automaker is still looking at alternatives, one of which is tweaking the platform a bit so assembly could shift to the Grand River Lansing plant alongside the XT5 and XT6.

The CT6 is also assembled in China for that market but Carlisle would rather not make China the sole global source and have to export it and deal with tariffs and logistics.

Meanwhile, the 2020 CT6 received a midcycle refresh and is arriving in showrooms soon.

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