What made you choose a Blackwing and what else did you consider?

[M2Cto4BW]

This is my biggest worry about my incoming 5BW - that it'll be too fast and too frustrating on the road. I've always had relatively slower sports cars as 2nd cars (S2000, now an Elise) and faster dailies (E39 M5, E90 M3, now Civic Type R). I love that the 5BW is fast as all hell and hope it'll feel like the E39 M5 did, just more/newer. But I could totally see myself getting frustrated and swapping for a 4BW (really wish the back seats were bigger though).

RE: E39 is exactly what it is, 20+ years later. To your point, that 20+ years may or may not be a problem. There was a mint Jade Green E39 540i in my old condo complex and it was soooo nice, coolest car in the car park even more so that the Mazer, vintage Mustang, or my M2C (snicker) and importantly right-sized amongst modern Accords, Camrys, and 3-series.
Will be interesting to see how you feel a couple thousand miles in!

 

[Deneed4spd]

This is my biggest worry about my incoming 5BW - that it'll be too fast and too frustrating on the road. I've always had relatively slower sports cars as 2nd cars (S2000, now an Elise) and faster dailies (E39 M5, E90 M3, now Civic Type R). I love that the 5BW is fast as all hell and hope it'll feel like the E39 M5 did, just more/newer. But I could totally see myself getting frustrated and swapping for a 4BW (really wish the back seats were bigger though).

It’s good to get first hand response from people who own both. When I watch all these car reviews on CT5 they all drool but they are all on a fast tract like VIR. But when I ask well how will CT5 feel on the road vs CT4, everyone who has both or has a CT5 says unless u want to go to jail, CT5 is constrained. I ponder if I end up with CT5, would I literally not go above gear 3 since I want to hear the motor/exhaust without ending up in jail without a license. That does seem odd. Of course I’m sure the CT4 also can get you in jail if u go above gear 4 redline down a road…

 

[white98ls]

RE: E39 is exactly what it is, 20+ years later. To your point, that 20+ years may or may not be a problem. There was a mint Jade Green E39 540i in my old condo complex and it was soooo nice, coolest car in the car park even more so that the Mazer, vintage Mustang, or my M2C (snicker) and importantly right-sized amongst modern Accords, Camrys, and 3-series.
Will be interesting to see how you feel a couple thousand miles in!

I've loved all the cars I've owned, but the E39 M5 is still my favorite and hence why I'm going for the 5BW. It was also the least reliable, so hoping a new American car with a warranty will be a huge improvement there.

 

[vvrroom99]

I traded a white 2019 Audi S6 Prestige for a black 2020 CT6-V (Ray Donovan style). You may recall on the show that Ray Ray moved from being a "fixer" in LA to being the same in NYC and in the process he ditched his silver CLS 550 MB for the LTA Blackwing - one look and I had to have it. Then I saw the test drive video that Jay Leno did with Cadillac Chief Engineer Tony Roma and when he said that the new 2022 Blackwing had the LT4 and was basically a 4 door Corvette - yep, I had to have it......black on black, again.

 

[668LT4]

This is my biggest worry about my incoming 5BW - that it'll be too fast and too frustrating on the road.

What are we talking about, 1/2 second faster to 60? Negligible in daily driving. Anyone that thinks the 5 is a quick pass to jail and a 4 is not... well, I owned a 4 and that car could easily land me in jail too.

I'm on the opposite side of the fence. In owning the Blackwing 4, and subsequently an M4 Competition, I am definitely not a "ring it out to the top of the RPM range" guy. I'm a torque guy. The LT4 will suit me better, and it sounds so phenomenal there is plenty of down low enjoyment that the turbos can only offer in high revving. It's just a different machine, neither is better than the other and performance wise they are very similar. I'm ok w the extra 30k to get the machine that matches my driving preferences. It's clear many if not most hear prefer the characteristics of the 4 and that's cool. LT4 for me.

 

[Berserker]

It's amazing to me that the phrases "nimble", "Miata", and "more fun to drive a slow car fast" keep coming up in reference to a 3800 lb, 472 hp car that can drop into the 11s in the quarter, top out at 189 mph, and put in lap times that 10-15 years ago would match or beat the Dodge Viper, Nissan GT-R, and Porsche 911 GT3.

 

[Deneed4spd]

What are we talking about, 1/2 second faster to 60? Negligible in daily driving. Anyone that thinks the 5 is a quick pass to jail and a 4 is not... well, I owned a 4 and that car could easily land me in jail too.

I'm on the opposite side of the fence. In owning the Blackwing 4, and subsequently an M4 Competition, I am definitely not a "ring it out to the top of the RPM range" guy. I'm a torque guy. The LT4 will suit me better, and it sounds so phenomenal there is plenty of down low enjoyment that the turbos can only offer in high revving. It's just a different machine, neither is better than the other and performance wise they are very similar. I'm ok w the extra 30k to get the machine that matches my driving preferences. It's clear many if not most hear prefer the characteristics of the 4 and that's cool. LT4 for me.

So you like to sip your booze rather than pound them with a beer bong!

 

[RancidSumo]

I have a 4 on the way and chose it for the many reasons already stated here. The car it is replacing is an F10 M5 (DCT). I love that car, but I miss having a manual and feel like the M5 is not that fun to drive in a way that isn’t dangerous on public roads. I know the 4 isn’t much slower, but the manual will make it more fun even at lower speeds and the slight decrease in power should let me use more of the car.

The extra back seat space in the 5 would have been nice, but I prefer driving a smaller car, know I don’t need/won’t use the extra power, and of course welcomed the $20k+ savings.

The only other car I seriously considered was an M3, but it is just too ugly. Reviews saying the Blackwing has better driving dynamics/a better 6MT made that decision easy.

With the M3 written off, the only other options were just too impractical (Porsche) or too unreliable (older M cars) for my only car. IMO, the Blackwings have dominated their respective segments. Hopefully that opinion holds when my car shows up.

 

[668LT4]

So you like to sip your booze rather than pound them with a beer bong!

I lost my ability to taste food and drink 10/25/21. It is slowly coming back now, over a full year later. But some things still have 0 taste for me, and that includes most alcoholic beverages. I have given up on alcohol. Beer, and I used to really enjoy the countless craft brews. Mostly just a water guy here.

 

[raptor5244]

It's amazing to me that the phrases "nimble", "Miata", and "more fun to drive a slow car fast" keep coming up in reference to a 3800 lb, 472 hp car that can drop into the 11s in the quarter, top out at 189 mph, and put in lap times that 10-15 years ago would match or beat the Dodge Viper, Nissan GT-R, and Porsche 911 GT3.

Haha, this is true and one of the frustrations with modern high performance cars. I actually traded a Camaro SS 1LE for a 2016 Miata ND. On the street the Miata was a lot more fun to drive since you can wring it out and at only 2,300 lbs it is feels like you are driving a go-kart.

I traded the Miata for a Tesla Model 3 Performance when they came out since I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Instant torque is very cool and for those who love LT4 levels of torque you will really enjoy the instantaneous torque delivery of EVs. Once the Tesla novelty wore off and the used market went nuts I traded the Tesla for the ZL1 since I missed the sound of the V8. I actually had another Camaro SS 1LE on order but I was able to find a new 2021 ZL1 on a lot at under MSRP so I bought it instead.

Even the mighty ZL1 with A10 transmission felt pretty sluggish compared to the Tesla M3P below 60mph but the sound and power once you get above 60mph is glorious. Eventually I grew bored with the A10 and putting around town in a supercar. I was looking at the new Z, a GT86, maybe another Miata when I started hearing great things about the 4BW. Once I saw it had a Tremec manual transmission and improved on all the negatives of the Camaro I was hooked. I have owned it around 3 months now and have no regrets.

 

[raptor5244]

It’s good to get first hand response from people who own both. When I watch all these car reviews on CT5 they all drool but they are all on a fast tract like VIR. But when I ask well how will CT5 feel on the road vs CT4, everyone who has both or has a CT5 says unless u want to go to jail, CT5 is constrained. I ponder if I end up with CT5, would I literally not go above gear 3 since I want to hear the motor/exhaust without ending up in jail without a license. That does seem odd. Of course I’m sure the CT4 also can get you in jail if u go above gear 4 redline down a road…

You can get yourself thrown in jail with a Corolla. The thing to keep in mind is that the M6 gearing is very tall in the 5BW/ZL1/Z06 in order to handle the torque load and to meet emissions and fuel economy regulations. If you are cool with short shifting most of the time and enjoying the low end torque then you will love it but if you like to wind out the gears and stretch its legs then you will probably feel a bit frustrated.

I always point folks to this section of the Blackwing video with Jason Cammisa because I feel it is spot on as he compares the Blackwings. I am not knocking the 5BW. I think it is awesome and if I lived in a rural area or had access to a track all the time I would prefer it but on the street the 4BW is the more enjoyable car.

 

[M2Cto4BW]

4BW - 5BW. 5BW - 4BW. No wrong choice.
As long as it's with an M6, which ofc is the only choice

 

[raptor5244]

4BW - 5BW. 5BW - 4BW. No wrong choice.
As long as it's with an M6, which ofc is the only choice

 

[Tall Steve]

I lost my ability to taste food and drink..

It was 11/2020 for me and it sucks! A lot of food taste bad for me but drinks are ok... Strange....

 

[flipray]

This is my biggest worry about my incoming 5BW - that it'll be too fast and too frustrating on the road. I've always had relatively slower sports cars as 2nd cars (S2000, now an Elise) and faster dailies (E39 M5, E90 M3, now Civic Type R). I love that the 5BW is fast as all hell and hope it'll feel like the E39 M5 did, just more/newer. But I could totally see myself getting frustrated and swapping for a 4BW (really wish the back seats were bigger though).

Its not the 5BW you gotta worry about. Its how heavy is your foot? Its not hard to hit 100 without realizing it while cruising on 6th if you're just not paying attention to it. Imagine the the BMWs you've had just cruising at 80-90 mph? The 5 can feel like that doing 110-120 without trying.

 

[LF4472]

The correct answer is 4BW + C7 Z06.

 

[Deneed4spd]

Nice plates

 

[emdough]

I was coming from a Genesis G70 6MT, which is a fantastic car except down on power because the manual could only be had with the 2.0T. And Genesis discontinued the 6MT for 2022.

My basic requirements were 1) manual, 2) not FWD, and 3) 4-doors. There are currently only 5 cars on the market that meet that criteria: both Blackwings, M3, WRX, and Golf R. The WRX and M3 are ugly, the Golf R has that awful capacitive touch interior, so that leaves the Blackwings. 5BW was out of budget, so we are left with the 4BW. Which, if I am choosing based on attributes, would be the one I chose anyway even if the others didn't have their fatal flaws.

Did you get to test drive the R?

 

[Throat Yogurt]

Did you get to test drive the R?

No. After watching Jason Cammisa's review of the Mk8, I didn't bother. Everything he hated in that car would have pissed me off so much that no goodness in the driving experience could have overcome it.

 

[ukcats12]

No. After watching Jason Cammisa's review of the Mk8, I didn't bother. Everything he hated in that car would have pissed me off so much that no goodness in the driving experience could have overcome it.

I have a Mk7.5 GTI for a daily and I'm really hoping they fix all that touch and capacity bullshit before I'm in the market to replace mine. GTIs are perfect daily drivers for me because I do a lot of driving in NYC and it makes parking easier than a sedan would be and it's still relatively sporty.