Can a mid-engine sports car lose to a sports sedan in any performance test? It just might if that sports sedan is the new Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing which combines decades of GM performance engineering with a supercharged V8. Sure the new C8 Corvette is a marvel of modern sports car engineering but can it handle the best sports sedan ever built by the team at Cadillac. To find out the team at Edmunds held a unique drag race known as a U-Drag. This interesting form of drag racing will test competitors’ straight-line speed, braking performance, and handling. May the best GM product win!
If you don’t know about the C8 Corvette by now sit down because things have changed since the C7. The engine now resides in the middle like a Ferrari, and there’s no manual transmission, which is also Ferrari-like if we’re still counting. Instead, you get a supercar-worthy 8-speed dual-clutch automatic from Tremec, that helps the C8 Corvette outperform almost every Corvette before it.
This high-tech transmission is mated to a familiar Chevy LT engine. This time it’s called the LT2 and retains the classic pushrod design of many Chevy V8s before it. The LT2 weighs in at 6.2-liters and produces an impressive 490 horsepower (365 kilowatts) and 465 lb-ft (630 Newton-meters) of torque.
To take on Chevy’s new supercar slayer we have the latest sports sedan from Cadillac, the CT5-V Blackwing. This new pinnacle of performance doesn’t use Cadillac’s short-lived twin-turbo Blackwing V8 engine and instead uses an updated version of the supercharged 6.2-liter LT4 engine from the C7 Corvette Z06. In the CT5-V Blackwing, the LT4 produces 668 horsepower (498 kilowatts) and 659 lb-ft (893 Newton-meters) of torque.
Which of these GM greats is the greatest? Well, let's see what Edmunds new U-Drag drag race results in. This unique take on drag races is a welcomed innovation, and we look forward to watching hundreds more.
