We’re back with extra info on the topic of Cadillac’s Blackwing V-8 engine. The 4.2-liter double-overhead cam mill had a short life inside the now-dead CT6-V and by the looks of it, Cadillac won’t drop it inside the new Escalade or the souped-up CT5.
Therefore, one must ask: is it ever going to be used inside another car? Believe it or not, the V-8 might live on but not inside a Caddy, according to a recent report.
Update:
MAT also replied by claiming that "we were under the impression that our counterpart was committing to making this engine available to MAT at conditions yet to be defined," although a signed agreement never happened.
What will happen to the Blackwing V-8?
According to a recent report by Hagerty, Cadillac’s Blackwing V-8 is headed to Europe; Italy, to be more precise, to the developers of the new Lancia Stratos and the 1,985-horsepower Aspark Owl all-electric hypercar. That’s right, the Blackwing V-8 is heavily linked to Manifattura Automobili Torino (or MAT), which is looking to use it in a new car it’s currently brewing.
Those who remember the 2019 Geneva Motor Show will undoubtedly recall the reborn, Ferrari F430-based Lancia Stratos shown in Switzerland by MAT. As it turns out, MAT is working on a new project and that project will benefit from the adoption of Caddy’s Blackwing twin-turbocharged powerplant.
Back in January 2020, we reported that the CT5 range-topper will get a V-8 engine, but not the Blackwing.} Instead, the supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 from the CTS-V would sit under its hood. One month later, another report had Cadillac President Steve Carlisle on record saying his company doesn’t have a plan for the Blackwing engine “at the moment.” Not great news by any means.
Coming back to Maniffatura Automobili Torino, president Paolo Garella revealed to Hagerty that the company is working on another limited-production model based on “the company’s own design.”
What’s more, Mr. Garella could confirm that “we have an agreement with General Motors. It’s a very-very interesting engine, a 4.2-liter twin-turbo reverse-flow V-8.”
The Blackwing V-8 uses a hot-vee arrangement of its two turbochargers (i.e. inside the valley formed by the cylinder banks), producing 550 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque.
What’s more, MAT will be working with Punch Torino, who now owns the former General Motors Propulsion Engineering Center in Turin. They’ll also be responsible for developing the Blackwing V-8. That said, we can’t be happier that the Blackwing V-8 won’t be lost and forgotten in the back of an abandoned depot. We just hope MAT reveals its creation sooner rather than later.