They keep sending them to me. V-8s, that is. Oh, I’m not complaining, and even though no one seems to want an electric car, the fact that a Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing is still being made feels like a minor miracle. And now, Cadillac has fixed the few issues I’ve had with what is still one of the best cars I’ve ever driven.
But it won’t last forever.
What’s changing on the 2025 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing?
On the outside, it’s simply a minor update to the looks, but inside it finally gets the Escalade’s screen.
- Redesigned front bumper
- Redesigned stacked vertical lighting with LED headlamps
- Walk up and walk away lighting choreography
- Three new colors are available: Drift Metallic, Deep Space Metallic, Typhoon Metallic
- 33-inch-diagonal LED display
- New Carbon Fiber Package, including an updated Carbon Fiber splitter
- Quad trapezoid exhaust tips
This amounts to what BMW calls an LCI, and outside it doesn’t make much difference. This was a handsome car anyway. Ah, but inside, a nit has been picked.
The 33-inch screen inside the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing
Let’s talk about what this does not do, which is take away actual buttons for the HVAC controls, and leaves even more for items you might access frequently. That’s amazing in 2024.
The screen itself is much nicer than anything else as well, with beautiful high-res graphics. Unlike BMW, which basically uses two screens inside one unit that’s split by the steering wheel, Cadillac just uses one actual screen. It looks cohesive – finally someone gets it.
Listen, it’s still not perfect inside. The quality of leather in GM products just isn’t up to snuff when compared to Mercedes or BMW, but this is also a cheaper car. They make an effort with Alcantara on the headliner and throughout the cabin. Plastic leather is no reason not to pick one up.
When will the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing be discontinued?
Soon. With Cadillac itching to make their entire lineup electric (we’ll see about that), and the actual age of the CT5 itself, the car is not long for this world. After this refresh, expect production to end as early as 2026.
GM doesn’t release production numbers, but it’s estimated that between the CT4-V and CT5-V, just 1,000 units were sold in 2022 combined. To put that in a bit of perspective, BMW made 500 M5 CS cars – that’s just the special edition. How many F90s were sold is anyone’s guess, but it’s going to outnumber the Blackwing by a significant margin.
So please, please, please, get one of these with a stick before it’s too late. This is the only manual transmission car with getting at this point. The M2 and M3 are dead fishes in manual, and the VW GTI manual is dead after this year, leaving just the WRX and Mustang. We’re running out of time.
In the Blackwing, at least you’ll be able to run away from time as well.
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