For the Cadillac CT6 and the automaker's renewed and wholehearted push to challenge the German luxury juggernaut, Cadillac unveiled the twin-turbocharged 4.2-liter LTA Blackwing V8 in 2018. This was a show of American power akin to sending a Ford-class aircraft carrier group into contested waters. The mill shared its fundamental small-block architecture with the 5.5-liter LT7 V8 developed for the Chevrolet Corvette C8.R race car, that LT7 lump headed for street duty in the 2023 Corvette Z06 with 670 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque. The LTA Blackwing that served the CT6 came in two power outputs, one with 550 horsepower and 640 pound-feet of torque for the CT6-V, a detuned version with 500 hp and 574 lb-ft for the CT6 Platinum. From the engine's debut until the end of CT6 production in 2020, Cadillac put the hand-built Blackwing in just 600 sedans. GM said it wanted to find another product for its monster luxury motor, but it never happened, and the Blackwing died without an encore.
Without an official factory encore, that is. The Drive has discovered that you can still buy the engine, you'll just have to find your own car to put around it. The GM Genuine Parts site for Cadillac will sell anyone willing to make a few phone calls the Blackwing V8 for $31,200. When The Drive posted the story two days ago, the Seller Price was $21,667, which matched the MSRP. In the 48 hours since then, times have changed — as times have been doing a lot, lately. GM at least does buyers the favor of revealing the 50% premium to be paid, still listing the $21,666.67 MSRP below the Seller Price. On top of that, purchase requires a $3,500 core fee, for $34,700 before taxes.
An automaker rep told the outlet that a small number of extra Blackwings got built for service departments; e.g., a CT6-V tried to do a Mustang impression leaving a car show and walloped a telephone pole instead of spectators. That CT6-V could need a new engine, one just like those available for sale at GM Genuine Parts.
Any useful build is probably going to want the 10-speed transmission GM mated to the Blackwing. That's also for sale at the site, costing $4,000 (MSRP $3,125) plus a $1,500 core fee, for $5,500 before taxes. That would put the garage jobber just over $40,000 before taxes.
The phone calls would be to a local dealer who would mediate the purchase, and, we're assuming, arrange delivery of the 600 pounds of heathen lumps. Could be worth it, since a buyer who's a member of Cadillac Rewards could get 105,600 points for the engine and transmission purchase. We have no idea how many parts and accessories that can buy at the online Cadillac store, but it sounds like a lot of floor mats and cargo organizers could be had.
What's the ideal build, though? A '59 Eldorado with tailfins in back and a Blackwing in front? A K-body Seville sleeper, the original Cadillac import luxury fighter? A restomod Northstar with the engine that the sedan's marketing deserved? Or how about this, an unprecedented car for unprecedented times: The Cimarron Blackwing. Someone needs to get one of those Discovery Channel shows on this, stat.
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Keyword: Official Cadillac parts site selling Blackwing V8 engines