Media dumps

[Berserker]

The F40 is still wildly regarded as the greatest Ferrari ever.

I remember when the F40 and Porsche 959 came out at about the same time, with wildly different approaches to going fast. I read so many car magazine reviews of these beasts - and still love them both.

The 4BW matches [the F40] in power and performance

I looked this up and, holy sh*t, you're right. The 4BW is in the ballpark.

source: Car and Driver	Ferrari F40	CT4-V Blackwing
Power	478 hp / 424 lb-ft	472 hp / 445 lb-ft
0-60 mph	4.2 s	4.0 s
0-130 mph	13.5 s	16.2 s
1/4 mile ET	12.1 s	12.4 s
1/4 mile Trap Speed	122 mph	116 mph
Top Speed	197 mph	">189 mph" (manufacturer's claim)
Braking 70-0	218 ft	153 ft
300 ft Skidpad	1.01 g	1.01 g
Observed Fuel Economy	9 mpg	18 mpg

The F40 pulls harder at higher speeds. But look at those braking numbers! I would LOVE to see a lap time comparison. Even if the F40 pulled out a lead on a long straight, I could see the 4BW dive-bombing it coming into the corner at the end of the straight.

SOURCE: C&D F40
SOURCE: C&D 4BW

 

[M2Cto4BW]

You can get a sense of how the game has moved on (and how Blackwings have no right to be that good for saloon cars*) from these all-time C&D Lightning Lap times:

Lightning Lap Results 2006 to 2023: Every Car, Every Lap Time

We've tested hundreds of cars over more than a decade at Virginia International Raceway, which has proved itself the ultimate test of modern machinery.

www.caranddriver.com

*IIRC they were gun-shy with the 4 after having an off, as they said they reckon they coulda squeezed a couple seconds more out of it.

 

[OldGoat]

You know what I have noticed, when I drove around in my M4, I was constantly using the rotary controller to operate the ID7 and navigate different things. Big part of driving that car for me. Slick system, many options. Change the lights, pull up the performance data on the center screen (which would seemingly be very easily for Cadillac to implement on our cars), use the programmable hot buttons, etc. I loved the layout of the interior, the way the screens were integrated, the aluminum trim + carbon. Very impressive.

Conversely, in my 6MT CT5-V Blackwing, I hardly look at the center stack let alone change a radio station. I'm driving, and those other things don't matter to me at all. The manual is a massive part of that experience.

Wow, these cars come with radios, only volume level I noticed was on mode switch

 

[Matt27]

You can get a sense of how the game has moved on (and how Blackwings have no right to be that good for saloon cars*) from these all-time C&D Lightning Lap times:

Lightning Lap Results 2006 to 2023: Every Car, Every Lap Time

We've tested hundreds of cars over more than a decade at Virginia International Raceway, which has proved itself the ultimate test of modern machinery.

www.caranddriver.com

*IIRC they were gun-shy with the 4 after having an off, as they said they reckon they coulda squeezed a couple seconds more out of it.

I think based on their social media from October, they had another one at the 2023 LL, so 4BW will be getting another crack at it.

 

[Jameson's Viggen]

I think based on their social media from October, they had another one at the 2023 LL, so 4BW will be getting another crack at it.

If they get it right, I predict a 2.53.x

I see so many Youtube comments from people saying The Blackwing is slower than:

F80 M3, Guilia Quad, M340i, M550i,392 Charger, etc. I am just like no, check the VIR hotlaps. If you deem a sports sedan is fast only by it's 0-60 time(M340i, M550i) just get a Tesla and shut up and stay in your box.

 

[savethemanual]

If they get it right, I predict a 2.53.x

I see so many Youtube comments from people saying The Blackwing is slower than:

F80 M3, Guilia Quad, M340i, M550i,392 Charger, etc. I am just like no, check the VIR hotlaps. If you deem a sports sedan is fast only by it's 0-60 time(M340i, M550i) just get a Tesla and shut up and stay in your box.

I had an idiot friend claim the blackwing is between the s4 and rs3 and would get beaten by an m2.

 

[M2Cto4BW]

...If you deem a sports sedan is fast only by it's 0-60 time(M340i, M550i) just get a Tesla and shut up and stay in your box.

Or an automatic

 

[pylctbw's]

CT4 & CT5 BW made the list once again!

2023 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing: Car and Driver 10Best
2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing: Car and Driver 10Best

 

[668LT4]

CT4 & CT5 BW made the list once again!

2023 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing: Car and Driver 10Best
2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing: Car and Driver 10Best

Both Blackwings and of course Corvette. The Goat Rodeo is well worth it if you actually care about driving character and feedback

#ThankYouGM

 

[Berserker]

CT4 & CT5 BW made the list once again!

Interesting comment below the article:

Great car but it’s a disappointment the passion put into the black wing models wasn’t extended further down the range. No reason that tremec 6 my couldn’t pair up with a smaller engine. I’m just happy they exist.

Cadillac could probably sell a CT4-V with the 325 hp 2.7, the Tremec 6-speed, AWD, and better seats with a sticker juuuust under $50k.

(The online builder says AWD with the auto is $51.8k, and on BWs the auto is a $3k option. Subtract the auto surcharge and add part of the savings back into the seats.)

Such a trim would be contender for king of the the <$50k sport compact market.

 

[DustinEarnhardt]

Interesting comment below the article:

Great car but it’s a disappointment the passion put into the black wing models wasn’t extended further down the range. No reason that tremec 6 my couldn’t pair up with a smaller engine. I’m just happy they exist.

Cadillac could probably sell a CT4-V with the 325 hp 2.7, the Tremec 6-speed, AWD, and better seats with a sticker juuuust under $50k.

(The online builder says AWD with the auto is $51.8k, and on BWs the auto is a $3k option. Subtract the auto surcharge and add part of the savings back into the seats.)

Such a trim would be contender for king of the the <$50k sport compact market.

An interesting idea, no doubt, but isn't the Magneride 4.0 one of the major enablers of the performance? I feel like at a lower price point they'd have to strip that and it would really take away a lot of what the BW has to offer.

 

[Berserker]

An interesting idea, no doubt, but isn't the Magneride 4.0 one of the major enablers of the performance? I feel like at a lower price point they'd have to strip that and it would really take away a lot of what the BW has to offer.

The non-BW 4V actually has Magneride as standard on the RWD cars.

So they could make it RWD rather than AWD, it would have Magneride, and it would be a little cheaper.

So, really, I'm just saying do what they do now. But add options for the manual and better seats. (Though maybe the base seats are good enough; I've never sat in them.)

Having RWD and AWD both available would be amazeballs in the context of the CTR being FWD-only.

 

[Berserker]

2023 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing: Car and Driver 10Best

At the 42 second mark: "And it's remarkable that you can just go to a dealership and buy one."

Should we tell them?

 

[savethemanual]

It’s great that Cadillac gets some recognition for making these cars. They mentioned collectible on the blackwings. Happy for that.

Not sure I agree with some of the others on the list. No Miata? The Supra , corvette(all trims) are iffy choices. Accord included just for being an accord is weird too.

 

[M2Cto4BW]

Interesting comment below the article:

Great car but it’s a disappointment the passion put into the black wing models wasn’t extended further down the range. No reason that tremec 6 my couldn’t pair up with a smaller engine. I’m just happy they exist.

Cadillac could probably sell a CT4-V with the 325 hp 2.7, the Tremec 6-speed, AWD, and better seats with a sticker juuuust under $50k.

(The online builder says AWD with the auto is $51.8k, and on BWs the auto is a $3k option. Subtract the auto surcharge and add part of the savings back into the seats.)

Such a trim would be contender for king of the the <$50k sport compact market.

IMHO that would be a car in search of a market. No one would buy it.
Heavy Cadillac sedan with not much more power than the lighter hot hatches and hot sedans? And once you hit $50k, heck find anothe $10k, ~$60k get a base spec 4BW which would be an absolute bargain compared to a watered down one.

 

[savethemanual]

IMHO that would be a car in search of a market. No one would buy it.
Heavy Cadillac sedan with not much more power than the lighter hot hatches and hot sedans? And once you hit $50k, heck find anothe $10k, ~$60k get a base spec 4BW which would be an absolute bargain compared to a watered down one.

+1
No one is buying the non blackwing CT4 V itself. Its pretty bad value and people should just step up to the blackwings.

 

[Seth]

It’s great that Cadillac gets some recognition for making these cars. They mentioned collectible on the blackwings. Happy for that.

Not sure I agree with some of the others on the list. No Miata? The Supra , corvette(all trims) are iffy choices. Accord included just for being an accord is weird too.

I bet if the Supra hadn't added the manual transmission that spot would belong to the Miata.

 

[ClassaxV]

Both Blackwings and of course Corvette. The Goat Rodeo is well worth it if you actually care about driving character and feedback

#ThankYouGM

It's truly amazing that BOTH Blackwings managed to make the list last year, having to go head to hear not just against other makes but against each other.

In a 2023 with the release of the new 2023 M2, RS3 and Darkhorse Mustang its monumental that they both managed to make the list again!

 

[savethemanual]

It's truly amazing that BOTH Blackwings managed to make the list last year, having to go head to hear not just against other makes but against each other.

In a 2023 with the release of the new 2023 M2, RS3 and Darkhorse Mustang its monumental that they both managed to make the list again!

I don't know if the new M2 and darkhorse were considered for this year.

 

[M2Cto4BW]

It's truly amazing that BOTH Blackwings managed to make the list last year, having to go head to hear not just against other makes but against each other.

In a 2023 with the release of the new 2023 M2, RS3 and Darkhorse Mustang its monumental that they both managed to make the list again!

'Beating' cars that you cannot actually go buy from a dealer and drive right now is a heck of an achievement . Don't let the year in the title of the article throw you off:

"Much of the list will be familiar to our readers, because 10Best isn’t just about what’s new this year, it’s about the best that’s on sale."