It's impossible not to love the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing. It's a sport sedan with a supercharged 6.2-liter V-8, a six-speed manual transmission, and one of the best rear-wheel drive chassis out there. With the new Precision Package, which brings a thoroughly revised suspension and carbon-ceramic brakes, the CT5-V Blackwing is just about perfect.
Compared with the likes of the Audi RS6 / RS7 and the new BMW M5, the Cadillac is the lightweight of the group, at a little over 4,000 pounds. That, plus a helping of GM's typically expert chassis tuning, makes the Blackwing one of the best cars in the world with which to carve up a canyon road. It'll do big, dumb burnouts like any old American muscle car—668 horsepower to the rear tires ensures this—but this car is all about handling.
The Precision Package is a spendy bit of equipment, though, at $18,000. For that, you get carbon-ceramic brakes, stiffer springs and sway bars, retuned MagneRide dampers, new steering knuckles, and the option of Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires. On the road, the car is notably stiffer than the standard variant, but not so much so that it becomes unusable.
Really, the biggest problem with the CT5-V Blackwing is just how fast it is. At the top of second gear, you'll be breaking almost every speed limit in the country, and even if you don't use all the revs, it's all too easy to get into license-suspension territory. Don't buy one of these if you don't have a healthy sense of restraint.
Seeing and hearing is believing with the CT5-V Blackwing, so check out our latest video review above. You're going to want one of these things.
