Cadillac teases the 'true' CT4-V and CT5-V at the Detroit Grand Prix
The camouflage hid all the beefy bits, but they won't stay covered forever.
If you were underwhelmed when Cadillac unveiled the new CT4-V and CT5-V last week, fear not, for the automaker has teased the properly powerful sport sedans that will slot above the cars we saw last week.
Cadillac on Saturday teased hotter versions of the CT4-V and CT5-V, which it first teased at the sedans' initial unveiling. Whipping around the track at Belle Isle as part of the Detroit GP, the two sedans were heavily camouflaged, with vinyl obscuring the body's details, in addition to permeable camouflage up front to make sure the cars' engines received plenty of fresh air.
That big ol' opening up front alludes to a much beefier engine under the hood. It's very likely that we'll see at least one of these sedans rocking the 4.2-liter, twin-turbocharged Blackwing V8 that made its first appearance in the 550-horsepower CT6-V . That's still down on output compared to the outgoing CTS-V , which makes 640 horsepower, but it's better than the massive power delta we saw when Cadillac unveiled the first round of new V-Series cars.
Not everyone was keen to enjoy the CT4-V and CT5-V when they were first unveiled late last week. The larger of the two only makes 355 hp from its 3.0-liter, twin-turbo V6, while the smaller (and all-new) sedan produces 320 hp from the 2.7-liter turbocharged I4 found in the Silverado 1500 pickup. Both can be had with Cadillac's excellent Magnetic Ride Control, both offer 10-speed automatic transmissions and both are offered in RWD and AWD flavors.
Think of Cadillac's V like Mercedes' AMG. Lower-tier AMGs used to be under a separate AMG Sport moniker, but eventually they were folded into the brand as slightly more approachable (and affordable) ways to get behind the wheel of a hopped-up Merc. Cadillac's doing much the same here, taking what would have been called a V-Sport a few years ago and folding it into the now-larger V family. It's not the end of the world, folks.