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GM's 'Cadillac-exclusive' V8 will likely end up in next CTS-V, Escalade

Cadillac's 4.2-liter, twin-turbo V8 was originally slated for the CT6 V-Sport.

Steven Ewing Former managing editor
Steven Ewing spent his childhood reading car magazines, making his career as an automotive journalist an absolute dream job. After getting his foot in the door at Automobile while he was still a teenager, Ewing found homes on the mastheads at Winding Road magazine, Autoblog and Motor1.com before joining the CNET team in 2018. He has also served on the World Car Awards jury. Ewing grew up ingrained in the car culture of Detroit -- the Motor City -- before eventually moving to Los Angeles. In his free time, Ewing loves to cook, binge trash TV and play the drums.
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Cadillac V8

General Motors said this 4.2-liter, twin-turbo V8 would be a "Cadillac-exclusive" engine.

Cadillac

Earlier this year, Cadillac introduced a brand-new, 4.2-liter, twin-turbo V8 engine. This "Cadillac-exclusive" engine was originally scheduled to arrive under the hood of the CT6 V-Sport. But with the recent announcement that the CT6 will end production, what will happen to this powerful new motor?

A source close to Cadillac told Roadshow on Thursday that this new V8 will likely end up under the hood of the next-generation (or is that CT5-V?). The source also said the V8 is slated to show up in the SUV.

When Cadillac announced the CT6 V-Sport at the 2018 New York Auto Show , it said the 4.2-liter V8 would produce 550 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque. That doesn't quite match the current 640 hp and 630 lb-ft from its 6.2-liter supercharged V8, so the 4.2-liter engine would likely get a small power bump for this application.

The Escalade, meanwhile, uses a naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8 that makes 420 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque, so the 4.2-liter engine would probably be detuned slightly. Unless there's, like, an Escalade-V in the works. Which would be freaking awesome.

Cadillac's 4.2-liter V8 will be hand-built at General Motors' Performance Build Center in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which is also the home of the . So it stands to reason this V8 might also find its way into some sort of Corvette model -- whether front- or midengined.

The next-generation CTS is expected to arrive sometime in 2019, with the V model following shortly thereafter.

2019 Cadillac CT6 adds V-Sport model with twin-turbo V8 power

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