Photo: Cadillac
After Cadillac presented the CT6 full-size sedan, the crown jewel of General Motors exhibited the Escala concept car at Pebble Beach. Everyone was looking forward to something genuinely new and different from the luxury brand, something that would help Caddy level up to its former glory.
Though the Escala didn’t enter production and the CT6 is no longer available in the United States of America, the most disappointing goof-up is the Blackwing. The engine per se doesn’t have a fault this entire charade; the blame hangs on the shoulders of execs and bean counters.
In a lovely write-up on Road & Track, automotive journo Chris Perkins highlights that “the team responsible for the CT6 was let go as part of a huge restructuring” one year after announcing the twin-turbo engine. This was the beginning of the end for the Blacking – RPO code LTA.
Chris has contacted several people who were “deeply involved with the project” to understand why the 4.2-liter had to go, and “all of whom agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity.” Former chief executive officer Johan de Nysschen is responsible for approving the motor, intended to differentiate high-performance Caddys from other heavy hitters from GM.
With 550 ponies on tap and 640 pound-feet of torque in the CT6-V, the Blackwing is capable of more suck-squeeze-bang-blow according to a source familiar with the project. Why didn’t the full-size sedan get higher ratings? “The tight engine bay made heat management a challenge, capping power.” This is where the story goes south, like really south.
GM engineers had the car when developing the LTA, and they knew about the problem. Despite these conditions, they didn’t have the time to make the appropriate modifications or were restricted by the lack of funding. Bigger problems, however, appear to have started with the Omega.
The platform on which the CT6 rides was supposed to underpin the CT5 and a few other models. “Financially, it just wasn’t a good strategy. One by one, those derivatives disappeared,” said a tipster. “The CT6 was left all by itself,” foreshadowing the end of the DOHC and hot-vee LTA.
The Escala was canceled along with a crossover based on the Omega platform, and one month after announcing the Blackwing in March 2018, de Nysschen was ousted from Cadillac. With so many circumstances conspiring against him and his ideals of a better Cadillac, the head honcho had to go because General Motors wanted to focus on more profitable products.
Hand-built in Kentucky right next to where the Corvette rolls off the line in Bowling Green, the LTA was assembled by a single employee from start to finish. It’s believed that GM spent $16 million to develop the Blackwing, working out at “around $20,000 per example” according to R&T.
Because the CT6-V is not produced anymore and no other GM platform can take the Blackwing, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the twin-turbo mill went out with a whimper instead of a bang. “It’s unlikely we’ll see it again,” wrote Chris, and he has a point if you dig deeper for info.
General Motors has doubled down on trucks and SUVs, so much that the Escalade is available with an inline-six turbo diesel. Instead of a twin-turbo V8 replacing or supplementing the good ol’ small-block engine, Cadillac has embraced electrification for its next-generation models.
The Lyriq utility vehicle and Celestiq fastback sedan are both “electric flagships,” and you know what that means. A dual-motor EV like the Tesla Model S is inherently faster off the line and on the drag strip than ICE as far as production cars are concerned. With the e-crossover and e-sedan just around the corner, the Blackwing may never come back. Ever.
In a lovely write-up on Road & Track, automotive journo Chris Perkins highlights that “the team responsible for the CT6 was let go as part of a huge restructuring” one year after announcing the twin-turbo engine. This was the beginning of the end for the Blacking – RPO code LTA.
Chris has contacted several people who were “deeply involved with the project” to understand why the 4.2-liter had to go, and “all of whom agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity.” Former chief executive officer Johan de Nysschen is responsible for approving the motor, intended to differentiate high-performance Caddys from other heavy hitters from GM.
With 550 ponies on tap and 640 pound-feet of torque in the CT6-V, the Blackwing is capable of more suck-squeeze-bang-blow according to a source familiar with the project. Why didn’t the full-size sedan get higher ratings? “The tight engine bay made heat management a challenge, capping power.” This is where the story goes south, like really south.
GM engineers had the car when developing the LTA, and they knew about the problem. Despite these conditions, they didn’t have the time to make the appropriate modifications or were restricted by the lack of funding. Bigger problems, however, appear to have started with the Omega.
The platform on which the CT6 rides was supposed to underpin the CT5 and a few other models. “Financially, it just wasn’t a good strategy. One by one, those derivatives disappeared,” said a tipster. “The CT6 was left all by itself,” foreshadowing the end of the DOHC and hot-vee LTA.
The Escala was canceled along with a crossover based on the Omega platform, and one month after announcing the Blackwing in March 2018, de Nysschen was ousted from Cadillac. With so many circumstances conspiring against him and his ideals of a better Cadillac, the head honcho had to go because General Motors wanted to focus on more profitable products.
Hand-built in Kentucky right next to where the Corvette rolls off the line in Bowling Green, the LTA was assembled by a single employee from start to finish. It’s believed that GM spent $16 million to develop the Blackwing, working out at “around $20,000 per example” according to R&T.
Because the CT6-V is not produced anymore and no other GM platform can take the Blackwing, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the twin-turbo mill went out with a whimper instead of a bang. “It’s unlikely we’ll see it again,” wrote Chris, and he has a point if you dig deeper for info.
General Motors has doubled down on trucks and SUVs, so much that the Escalade is available with an inline-six turbo diesel. Instead of a twin-turbo V8 replacing or supplementing the good ol’ small-block engine, Cadillac has embraced electrification for its next-generation models.
The Lyriq utility vehicle and Celestiq fastback sedan are both “electric flagships,” and you know what that means. A dual-motor EV like the Tesla Model S is inherently faster off the line and on the drag strip than ICE as far as production cars are concerned. With the e-crossover and e-sedan just around the corner, the Blackwing may never come back. Ever.
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