Over the past several years, the big V8 sedan has become scarce like an endangered species. Chevrolet had the SS and Caprice, Pontiac had the G8, Mopar fans enjoyed the Charger, and Cadillac gave us the CTS V. But in 2025, all that is left from the US is the last manual transmission V8 sedan, the Cadillac CT5 V Blackwing.

However, according to sources via GM Authority, the CT5 V Blackwing may be on its way out along with its CT4 V Blackwing little brother. According to sources inside GM, the CT4 and CT5 will be replaced altogether with two new EVs with sedan-sportback styling (see the Escala and Celestiq concepts). While the news of GM’s last remaining V8 performance car outside of the Corvette being replaced by an EV is enough to get your blood boiling, it’s simply a matter of business.

The Blackwing getting canceled is a casualty of the Ct4 and Ct5 sedan’s sales figures, which have been steadily dropping over the past few years. While the Lyriq, Cadillac’s premier EV crossover SUV, has jumped in sales by over 110% in the last year, making it the second-place seller behind the still-popular Escalade.

What is a Cadillac Blackwing?

The name “Blackwing” first appeared as the moniker for the then-new 4.2-liter twin-turbo V8 made for the CT6 full-size Cadillac sedan. This was a very special engine made exclusively for Cadillac for the 2019 and 2020 model years and produced 500 horsepower when optioned in the CT6 or 550 horsepower for the CT6 V. This Twin-turbo powerplant was very expensive to develop and produce, and also had a very short lifespan. Only 1,200 of the engines total were installed in production models over just a two-year span before being discontinued.

Cadillac resurrected the Blackwing name for the 2022 model year with the CT4 V and CT5 V. The CT4 V Blackwing received the high-output LF4 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6 producing 472 horsepower and the CT5 V Blackwing received the legendary Gen-V LT4 V8 from the ZL1 Camaro. The CT5 V Blackwing starts at $96,990 and comes with the 668-horsepower supercharged LT4 V8 mated to either a TR-6060 6-speed manual or 10L90E 10-speed automatic transmission stuffed inside its full-size luxury sedan body.

What about the Escalade V?

There is no Blackwing package for the Escalade V, which also comes with the same Supercharged LT4 as the CT5 V Blackwing, but it does make us wonder about its future as well. If the CT5 V Blackwing gets the axe, that leaves the Escalade V as the only production vehicle GM makes that offers the LT4 engine to the public. When production volume decreases, the cost to manufacture increases.

The CT5 V Blackwing features the 668-horsepower LT4.

This shouldn’t be a surprise if you have priced an LT4 crate engine in the past few years as its price has gone up as well. There is no word on the Escalade V’s future, but it’s not looking likely that GM will still produce one high-performance V8 just for one SUV with low-volume sales.

Are the Blackwing performance sedans taking off for one last flight? It certainly sounds like it. The good news is the CT4 and CT5 are scheduled for production at least through the 2026 model year. So you might not have a lot of time, but there is still a chance to own one of the last V8 rear-wheel-drive sedans on the market before the species goes extinct. Get that TR-6060 equipped CT5 V before all Blackwings are canceled!