Cadillac recently announced a “V” version of its flagship sedan – featuring the brand’s first exclusive engine since the Northstar
CORRECTION 3/29/18: Earlier rumors suggested the CT6-V’s engine would find its way into the C8 Corvette. Cadillac CEO Johan de Nysschen denounced the rumor, stating this engine would remain exclusive to the brand.
UPDATE:Â Updated to reflect the CT6 V-Sport’s name change to the “CT6-V”.
Recently, Cadillac announced their range-topping CT6 V-Sport sedan. Packing 550 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of torque, the company seeks to woo performance shoppers. On the surface, the numbers suggest to onlookers, “Look! We can M5 too!”. Now, whether or not that comparison is apt will have to wait until we get a 2019 CT6-V to test back in Colorado.
[Photo: Cadillac]
So what’s under the hood of the CT6-V to make that kind of power? Cadillac introduced a 4.2-liter V8 with not one, but two turbochargers. That follows the spirit of the M5, as the M5 has a 4.4-liter, twin-turbocharged V8. Unlike Cadillacs of yesteryear, the 2019 CT6-V bucks “ain’t no substitute for cubes” philosophy by bringing some boost to the equation. The standard CT6 is getting this engine as well, albeit in detuned form. In the normal CT6, this engine will produce 500 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque. Whichever version you get, that engine will hook up to a 10-speed automatic transmission.
The Cadillac CT6-V’s 4.4-liter, twin-turbocharged V8. [Photo: Cadillac]
Packaging the engine in the 2019 Cadillac CT6-V
Packaging was also important with this new engine. Cadillac touts the CT6-V’s engine’s top-mounted turbochargers as a reason to celebrate. Bucking normal turbo tradition, they placed the turbochargers inside the two cylinder heads – in the middle of the “V” – to combat turbo lag. However, that also makes the engine, as a whole, more compact, which serves an important role in a mid-engined application. It’s worth noting that this is also Cadillac’s first twin-turbo V8, as the 6.2-liter V8 in the CTS-V is supercharged.
This will be a limited production engine built at GM’s Bowling Green, Kentucky assembly plant. While that was a glimmer of hope for Corvette fans hoping this engine would power the C8 Corvette, we have some bad news. Cadillac’s CEO all but debunked the rumor during Cadillac’s press conference at the New York Auto Show. He stated this engine would remain exclusively inside the brand.
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