Historically, Cadillac is known for its heavy focus on luxury… emphasis on heavy. This top-shelf GM brand is perhaps most famous for its massive vehicles from the 1960s and ‘70s, or even the Escalade lineup of gargantuan SUVs. Traditional Cadillacs are soft and floaty, offering an incredibly smooth ride but handling practically like an unmoored dinghy caught in a storm. Despite this reputation, the automaker also knows a thing or two about performance and has built a number of pumped-up products that have given the likes of BMW and Mercedes-Benz a legitimate run for their money. UPDATE: 2026/02/22 13:34 EST BY JARED SOLOMON This article has been updated to include additional context on how the CT6‑V stood out as a full-size luxury performance sedan, highlighting its spacious interior, advanced driving dynamics, and how it compares to Cadillac’s current performance models.Cadillac currently offers several performance-focused models, including V-Series versions of the CT4 and CT5 sedans, as well as ultra-potent Blackwing variants of these cars. The brand even builds a couple of souped-up variants of the Escalade. But as nice as these vehicles are, Cadillac offered an even more intriguing product several years ago, an ultra-rare sedan with world-beating power and performance. The 2019 CT6-V Is The Ultimate Cadillac Super Sedan Cadillac Practically as rare as finding buried treasure, the 2019 Cadillac CT6-V is an absolute gem of a car that was built in staggeringly low numbers. Despite the minuscule production run, this may be the best performance car Cadillac has ever built. Not only does the CT6-V deliver incredible speed, but this husky four-door also knows how to handle, has a roomy interior, and its styling is handsome but restrained, perfect for flying well under the radar, making quick trips across town for business without attracting any unwanted attention. This Large Car Knows How To Move Cadillac Cadillac engineers spent years chasing the likes of BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Thanks to this relentless pursuit, they were able to build vehicles that went toe-to-toe with the world’s best. Enabling the CT6-V to rival the likes of BMW’s hallowed M5 and AMG-ified versions of the E-Class is a range of high-tech features. Magnetic Ride Control provided superb body control over bumps and ruts while still delivering a smooth ride, a special exhaust system allowed this super sedan’s unique engine sing its lungs out, there was track-tuned active rear-wheel steering for enhanced agility in just about all driving scenarios, and the car even benefited from a special set of Brembo brakes, so drivers could keep everything under control. Cadillac Engineers Knew What They Were Doing Cadillac The heart of the CT6-V, and, of course, “lesser” CT6s was GM’s Omega architecture, a unicorn of sorts that basically only underpinned this Cadillac. A rear-drive-based platform, it featured mixed-materials construction, blending various grades of steel with aluminum to slash weight while maintaining plenty of strength. This highly rigid foundation was a major reason why the CT6 was able to deliver such impressive driving dynamics. The car carries itself well for something that tips the scales at 4,500 lbs in the V-Series trim. A Bespoke Engine For An Exceedingly Special Vehicle Cadillac The CT6 rode atop a unique architecture, but what was found under the hood of the V-Series model is even rarer. Parent company GM has built some legendary engines over the years, from the small-block Chevy and the subsequent LT family of pushrod V8s to a scalding-hot 3.6-liter twin-turbocharged V6, a range of potent Duramax diesels, the exotic LT6 employed in the Corvette Z06, and numerous engines in between (GM has, naturally, built some real clunkers, too, but that’s a topic for another story), but what powered this car is something truly special. 4.2 Liters Of Twin-Turbocharged V8 Fury CadillacDubbed Blackwing, the Cadillac CT6-V featured a 4.2-liter twin-turbo V8 that was basically unique to this model. According to a media release from the time, “The engine is a clean-sheet design and introduces unique design elements developed to balance performance and efficiency with compact, mass-efficient packaging.”This V8 was hand-built and loaded with high-tech amenities. The engine featured dual-overhead cams with adjustable phasers for a broader powerband, four valves per cylinder, and direct fuel injection. There was also cylinder deactivation, stop-start technology, and piston-cooling oil squirters. The Blackwing engine also incorporated a so-called “hot-V design,” where gas flow into and out of the engine is reversed. The turbochargers are nestled between the cylinder heads rather than hung off the sides. This layout typically provides better packaging and faster spooling. Why GM would go through the effort and enormous expense to design and build this engine instead of just using one of its existing – and excellent – V8s is something of a mystery, but it’s hard to argue with the results. Two Flavors For Two Different Models CadillacThe Blackwing V8 delivered a potent 500 horsepower and 574 pound-feet of torque in the 2020 CT6 Platinum, a more luxury-focused version of this sedan. In the 2019 CT6-V, however, the engine was good for 550 horses and 627 lb-ft of torque (640 lb-ft in 2020). With a standard 10-speed automatic transmission, that was enough secret sauce to propel this four-door from a standstill to 60 mph in as little as 3.8 seconds, an absolutely blistering performance. Ridiculously Low Volume Cadillac There’s a lot to love about this pumped-up Cadillac, but one major downside to this car – or advantage, depending on your perspective – is that only a tiny number of V-Series models were ever built. This is terrible news if you’re looking to buy one of these rare vehicles, but it’s awesome if you already own one because they’re a hard commodity to find.Aside from miniscule production numbers, when new, this Cadillac was not cheap. The car started at around $93,000, a staggering sum, even today. But as always, good things cost money, and you needed a lot of it to drive home in one of these thoroughbred vehicles.Cadillac Future-Classic Status Is Guaranteed If you’re one of the lucky few that owns a CT6-V, you’re likely in a very good position right now. Reportedly, Cadillac only built around 1,475 Blackwing-powered cars (Platinum and CT6-V models combined), a vanishingly small production run. This limited availability practically guarantees the CT6-V’s future-classic status. Seriously, if you’ve got one, please take good care of it! This is a real piece of automotive history and quite possibly an appreciating asset. Good Luck Finding One Now, if you’re looking to park a CT6-V in your garage, good luck. No, seriously; acquiring one of these cars is likely no easy task. With such limited production, there are very few examples to choose from, and if you’re looking for a good example, the task will be even more challenging, so be prepared for a real hunt. The 2019 Cadillac CT6-V Offers Plenty Of Luxury, Too Cadillac To compete with high-performance models from BMW and Mercedes-Benz, you need solid engineering, a rigid underlying platform, plenty of advanced technology and a drivetrain that absolutely rips, all things the CT6-V has, but that’s not all that’s required. Luxury is just as important in a car of this caliber, and Cadillac does not disappoint.When it comes to tech, this super sedan offered a Rear Camera Mirror that dramatically improved your field of view behind the vehicle by sending a video feed from the reversing camera to a screen mounted behind the mirror glass. Beyond that, a 360-degree camera system was available, making parking in tight quarters much easier. The CT6 also offered night vision, an automatic parking feature, and a comprehensive suite of advanced driver assistance technologies including lane-keeping assist, rear cross-traffic alert, blind spot monitoring and more.Cadillac This vehicle also came with the Cadillac User Experience infotainment system, CUE for short. A 10.2-inch screen was included in this setup, but that’s perhaps the only good thing that can be said about this system. Unfortunately, it never seemed to work all that well thanks largely to its unusual and somewhat laggy touch controls for certain functions. The Interior Is A Nice Place To Spend Time Similar in size to a Mercedes-Benz S-Class or a BMW 7 Series, the CT6 is a large car that offers generous amounts of interior space for passengers. There should be around 46.4 inches of legroom in the front seat and 40.4 inches in the back. As for headroom, front seat folks get 40.2 inches, while people in the rear have 38.0. When it comes to hip room, it clocks in at 55.9 and 53.5 inches, respectively. Overall, this Cadillac has 110 cubic feet of passenger volume. As for luggage space, it clocks in at a relatively modest 15.8 cubes. Super Cruise Hands-Free Driving Is Included As Well Finally, the CT6-V has one additional standout feature that, at least in recent years, was hard to come by. This car has GM’s groundbreaking Super Cruise system, a hands-free driving aid that works on pre-mapped sections of highway. One of the greatest automotive innovations to come out in the last 20 years, Super Cruise is rock solid and a tremendous asset on long trips. This Cadillac is a driver’s dream, but even the most ardent of enthusiasts need a break now and then, and Super Cruise provides exactly this; it’s another feather in the CT6-V’s cap, and a great reason to consider owning one of these limited-production super sedans… if you can find one. How The CT6-V Compares To The Current Cadillac Performance Sedan CadillacWhat really sets the CT6‑V apart from today’s Cadillacs isn’t just its engine or tech. It's the fact that it was a full-size luxury sedan that could go toe-to-toe with the world’s best performance cars. Built on Cadillac’s Omega platform, the CT6‑V combined a spacious, lavish interior with advanced driving dynamics rarely seen in a car of its size. Unlike the current and smaller CT5‑V Blackwing, which is all about compact, high-horsepower performance, the CT6‑V offered supercar-level acceleration from a four-door weighing over 4,500 lbs, while still providing room for passengers to stretch out, a quiet cabin, and a smooth, refined ride.Its bespoke 4.2-liter twin-turbo Blackwing V8, active rear-wheel steering, and all-wheel-drive system meant this was a big sedan that could handle like a much smaller sports car, blending performance and luxury in a way that few cars today attempt. Modern Cadillacs like the CT5‑V Blackwing or even the Escalade‑V bring serious power to the table, but none combine size, refinement, and bespoke engineering quite like the CT6‑V did. In many ways, it remains the ultimate expression of Cadillac’s ability to create a large, luxurious, and incredibly fast sedan — a rare gem that still stands as a benchmark for full-size American performance sedans.