![\"GM](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/04\/13\/PDTN\/040c1a6b-e183-477d-a59e-91efdca32421-blackwing_CT4-V-fr-BelleIsle.JPG?width=540&height=&fit=bounds&auto=webp\")
<\/p>\n<\/div>GM VP for Global Product Ken Morris drives the blue CT4 performance variant around Belle Isle in 2019. In production trim, the car will be called the CT4-V Blackwing.\u00a0(Photo: Eric Klauser, Cadillac)<\/span><\/p>\n Cadillac\u00a0is upping its\u00a0firepower in the premium performance wars\u00a0with a\u00a0track-focused variant of its CT4 and CT5 sedans called the V-series Blackwing.<\/p>\n Aimed at Europe\u2019s iconic BMW M, Mercedes AMG, and Audi RS greyhounds, the CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing were first revealed \u2014\u00a0sans badging \u2014 at the Detroit\u00a0Grand Prix on Belle Isle last year. Bristling with state-of-the-art aerodynamics and chassis tuning, they will likely cost $30,000 north of the standard sedan models.<\/p>\n However, they will not feature Cadillac\u2019s state-of the-art, 4.2-liter, twin-turbo V-8 Blackwing engine that briefly appeared in the now defunct CT6-V sedan. The Blackwing engine appears to be homeless for now, but the name will live on as Cadillac\u2019s pinnacle of performance.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Blackwing name has come to represent the very best of Cadillac performance engineering, craftsmanship and technology,\u201d said Cadillac executive chief engineer Brandon Vivian. Slotted above the performance, V-series models, the Blackwing weapons will complete the rear-wheel-drive CT sedan\u00a0lineups.<\/p>\n The CT4 will start at $33,990 when it\u00a0arrives this year \u2014\u00a0well below the similarly-sized $36,490 ATS that it\u00a0replaces \u2014\u00a0as it\u00a0moves down a segment to compete against the likes of the BMW 2-series and Audi A3. The CT4 will be available in Premium Luxury and Sport trims. Buyers with a need for speed can then step up to the $45,490 CT4-V which makes 325 horsepower. The CT4-V Blackwing version will likely get the same 464 horse, 3.6-liter twin-turbo V-6 as the ATS-V it replaces \u2014\u00a0though expect the $68,790 sticker price to get slashed.<\/p>\n The CT5, currently available for sale, follows a similar path over little brother CT4 with a starting price at $37,890,\u00a0well below the $47,990 of the CTS it replaces. That price\u00a0also undercuts German competitors by some $5,000 before the CT5 options Premium Luxury and Sport models. The Blackwing will be priced above the $48,690 CT5-V which\u00a0debuted this spring to critical acclaim from the motoring\u00a0press.<\/p>\n The CT5-V Blackwing will likely\u00a0get the same 640-horsepower, 6.2-liter V-8 monster stuffed in the outgoing\u00a0CTS-V. That similarly-sized beast started at $88,990 and could\u00a0top out at over $100k as it competed against the\u00a0BMW M5. Expect that price to drop by maybe $20 grand as the Blackwing lines up against the compact BMW M3.<\/p>\n