Cadillac dropped the ball in the 1980s with the ridiculously unreliable V8-6-4 engine, odd-looking Seville, overpriced Allante, and Chevrolet Cavalier-based Cimarron. Worse still, who could forget the Opel Omega-based Catera of the following decade?
The marque started getting its mojo back in 1998 for the 1999 model year with the introduction of a pickup truck-based sport utility vehicle by the name of Escalade. Fast forward to 2003, and that's when Cadillac ventured into the realm of the sports sedan without ever looking back to grandpa's luxobarge.
Cadillac morphed into a different automaker following the introduction of the Escalade and V series, with the Escalade now selling better than any other Caddy in the US market. A high-performance Escalade rolled out for the 2023 model year with more oomph than the CT5-V Blackwing, yet the mid-size luxury sedan is the sportier vehicle of the two vehicles.
Developed to compete against BMW's M5 and Merc's E 63, the CT5-V Blackwing puts out 668 horsepower and 659 pound-feet (893 Nm) of twist from 6.2 liters of small-block V8 goodness. Even though it's punchier and torquier than the German competition, some peeps would like a little more of both. That's where Hennessey enters the scene with the H1000 package, which promises 1,000 ponies.
Quicker and faster than the flat-plane crankshaft V8-engined Corvette Z06 at Lonestar Motorsports Park, the H1000 CT5-V Blackwing is best described as the Exorcist Camaro ZL1 with two extra doors and plusher trim for the interior. Good for 966 pound-feet (1,310 Nm) at full chatter, the heavily tuned sedan packs an upgraded supercharger, high-flow induction, high-flow catalytic converters, long-tube headers, and – of course – a larger heat exchanger.
Filmed at the Lonestar Motorsports Park and in the urban jungle known as Houston, the blue sedan in the video below is equipped with a manual rather than a 10-speed automatic. It's not a cheapo manual, but a Tremec TR-6060 as opposed to the TR-3160 in the 2024 model year Mustang Dark Horse.
Capable of smoking the rear tires into rubber pebbles with ease, this fellow further sweetens the deal with an HPE-developed cam that results in a louder idle. 1,000 horsepower wouldn't be possible without an auxiliary fuel system, upgraded intake and exhaust valves, lifters, pushrods, valve springs, and valve retainers for good measure. A stupidly loud car that makes the Bugatti Veyron blush in awe, the Hennessey H1000 CT5-V Blackwing is expensive.
Although the Sealy-based tuner and hypercar manufacturer didn't publish any pricing information for the H1000 package, we do have a good idea of how much it costs. For starters, you'll have to pony up $93,495 plus $1,395 for the destination charge for the CT5-V Blackwing. A few years ago, Hennessey sold the HPE1000 package for the now-discontinued Cadillac CTS-V for $65,000 including labor. That being said, you're looking at a very expensive car.
With 332 more horsepower and 307 more pound-feet (416 Nm) over the bone-stock specification, the H1000 CT5-V Blackwing needs merely 2.5 seconds to reach 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour). The quarter mile is dealt with in 10.1 seconds, and top speed is estimated at over 200 mph (322 kph).
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News