Cadillac CT5

[kevm14]

Alex on autos brief overview and thoughts: https://youtu.be/6ctaGcRPJFU

Seems reasonable. Positioned in the 3 series class but with more room while probably maintaining the dynamics, and probably priced like a 3 series. It would be a value play (plus I think it is attractive).

[kevm14]

CT5-V
https://www.motortrend.com/cars/cadilla ... A391617376

Apparently this is more of a V-sport (aka CT6-V, which notably has less power than a CTS-V).

You can kill a sedan, or you can choose to play in the car game and up the ante with more performance. Introducing the 2020 Cadillac CT5-V with 355 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque under the hood courtesy of a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6 engine. And an even more powerful, track-capable CT5-V is still to come. Gentlemen, start your engines.

It seems like the V (which is a V-sport) goes from 335 to 355 hp?? That is....somewhat underwhelming. It's not really even a V-sport. Hope it's really light because imo it should not really be inferior performing to the outgoing CTS V-sport. And it seems like it will be....10-speed auto though.

The regular CT5 goes on sale this fall; the CT5-V will follow in early 2020, and after a short model year, the 2021 model will be introduced with Super Cruise, Cadillac's hands-free highway driving technology. The CT5-V will take on the BMW 3 Series (including performance versions), the Audi S4, and Mercedes-AMG C43.

The CT5-V comes standard in rear-wheel drive, and all-wheel drive is available. The sedan still has a front multi-link strut and five-link rear suspension, but it has been enhanced, and on the CT5-V the latest version of Magnetic Ride Control (version 4.0) is standard.

To distribute power in the CT5-V, the V-6 comes with a 10-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters. No manual transmission—at least for now, GM President Mark Reuss says with a smile.

That is, in part, because there is a higher-level, track-capable version of the CT5-V still to come. No details yet, but more will be shared soon, Reuss says. This will be a V-Series strategy going forward; an affordable V that is $6,000-$7,000 more than a Sport model, then a top-level V for those who want ultimate performance. The first two vehicles to adopt this strategy are the CT5-V and CT4-V. The CT6-V has only one level, but it is a doozy with the new 550-hp, 627-lb-ft Blackwing V-8 engine.

"Performance isn't going to go out of style," Reuss says. Once Cadillac made the decision to stay in sedans, it knew it couldn't do it half way.

The regular CT5 base engine is the 2.0-liter twin-scroll turbocharged I-4 that made its debut in the 2019 CT6 refresh, and it gives the sedan 237 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. An optional 335-hp, 400-lb-ft 3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6 is similar to the CT5-V's engine but with smaller turbos. Both engines have active fuel management that shuts down cylinders when they aren't needed. And each is paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission. The outgoing CTS-V has a 640-hp, 630-lb-ft 6.2-liter supercharged V-8.

The CT5 is content as a sedan only; no coupe or wagon is planned at this time. It will be assembled at the Lansing Grand River plant.
Cadillac introduced the V-Series in 2004 with the CTS-V, and over the years the family has included V variants of the STS, XLR, ATS, and CT6.

[Bob]

I didn’t realize my Vsport was going to end up being the pinnacle of midsize Cadillac TT V6 performance.

[kevm14]

Putting in both threads.
https://www.motortrend.com/news/cadilla ... 2251E93B51

[kevm14]

https://www.motortrend.com/cars/cadilla ... A76CC3D4E5

So what I actually gather from this is that this may be a more well rounded base CTS version 2.0 (not to be confused with 2.0T). If it sells better than the CTS, it will prove that people want things a little more bland and well-rounded than just sheer chassis excellence. This will be a sad realization for car enthusiasts...

That said, I'm not too worried about conservative suspension tuning on a base car. If the more sporting trims feel equally uninspired, well, then we can blow the whistle on it.

[bill25]

Good CT5-V news!!! Is that CT 55???

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/autos-l ... spartanntp

Instead of the twin-turbo 4.2-liter Blackwing V-8 we anticipated, the new sports sedan will use the same supercharged 6.2-liter as its predecessor the CTS-V.

[kevm14]

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a3062 ... v8-engine/

We think that packaging is the key reason behind this decision. Because of the Blackwing V-8's double-overhead-cam design, it's taller and wider than the pushrod 6.2-liter V-8, meaning it may not fit easily between the strut towers of the CT5, which uses GM's Alpha platform. The Blackwing V-8's only application so far is in the now defunct CT6-V, which rides on a different, larger platform called Omega. We haven't heard rumors of any other applications for this engine, so disappointingly this new V-8 may go the way of the CT6 and never be heard from again.

Same old story. Large displacement pushrod engines are actually quite compact. The LT4 was good provided it had sufficient cooling (including oil). This also means that the CT5-V should be a similar performer to the old CTS-V. Not that there's anything wrong with that, though I would support an enhanced LT4, like a detuned LT5 just to get that trap solidly in the ~127+ range (I've seen the V3 trap as low as like 122-123 I think, not even a consistent 125). My goal would be to see packaging of the interior/trunk improved while losing NOTHING in performance or dynamics. If they want to up their interior game that is fine I guess. Whatever it takes to sell more while still being top of the class (or near the top) in terms of being an actual enthusiast-grade chassis. Theoretically, the driving dynamics of the Giulia Quadrofoglio combined with the interior/luxury/premiumness of the German offerings, but as an American offering (i.e. pushrod, no apologies V8). We'll see how the actual execution is.

The trick is where the pricing ends up while delivering on that. Can they charge German money for that? I'm going with, no. So invariably a compromise must be made. Maybe they can hedge and have a premium, over the top interior for those who want it (and charge appropriately) and a regular interior for those who don't care as much about that? Not efficient to do it that way...and it takes more than slapping some leather and carbon fiber on. It's baked into the design. This is not easy. Maybe look at Lincoln's model with the Navigator - the non-Black Label are very clearly not as good as the Black Label interiors.

In fact GM just invested in a bespoke interior for the Yukon Denali so there is some recent precedent here.

My other thought is I'd rather see pushrod stuff in these kinds of vehicles, and that extends down to the ATS-V and CTS V-sport. They should have just had the LT1. However, the Blackwing is completely appropriate in the CT6 Platinum/V and I have no issue with such a powerplant in a vehicle like that.

Finally, as to the question:

Which V-8 would you prefer in the CT5?

It was 48% LT4, 52% Blackwing (as of this post). Which means nothing really but for the record I voted LT4.

[bill25]

The Blackwing V-8's only application so far is in the now defunct CT6-V, which rides on a different, larger platform called Omega. We haven't heard rumors of any other applications for this engine, so disappointingly this new V-8 may go the way of the CT6 and never be heard from again.

I thought there were rumors this was going in the C8.

[kevm14]

https://jalopnik.com/hottest-cadillac-c ... 1841180036

[kevm14]

Watch that video from the C&D article. They very clearly have an M5 as part of the mule team (looks generic so I can't tell what generation but I'd assume current). That's a good idea as the current M5 is very good.

We will at least see the 10-speed auto so this could simply be the Camaro ZL1 powertrain. I really hope they do something closer to the LT5 but something tells me that isn't going to happen. Would also be amazing if there was a manual but surely one of these cars would have had a manual. They were all autos.

Backfires: https://backfires.caranddriver.com/foru ... 1-30629835