Competes with: Audi S8, Mercedes-AMG E63, BMW 750
Looks like: A sleeper car to dust all varieties of luxury sedans, with the only giveaway to its performance focus being a small “V” badge on the back
Drivetrain: 550-horsepower, twin-turbocharged 4.2-liter V-8 and 627 pounds-feet of torque; 10-speed automatic transmission; all-wheel drive
Hits dealerships: TBD
Cadillac has taken the wraps off the 2019 CT6 V-Sport, its flagship sedan’s performance variant boasting an exciting new engine under the hood.
Related: More 2018 New York Auto Show Coverage
The CT6 is the third Cadillac model to offer a V-Sport variant, joining the CTS and XTS sedans. It also serves as a preview for the other changes to come to the 2019 CT6 lineup as a whole. The CT6 will offer Luxury and Sport trims with unique features as well as new headlight and taillight designs.
Exterior
The CT6 V-Sport looks fairly innocuous — without closer inspection, it looks like a normal sedan. But there are a few touches that hint at the monster lurking underneath the hood: The front has a V-inspired mesh grille and new, horizontally oriented LED headlights. The CT6 V-Sport retains the vertical LED signature lighting of last year’s model, with an LED line dripping off the outside of the headlight and down into the lower fascia. There are also unique lower aero trim pieces, gloss-black side window covers and 20-inch V-Sport-specific wheels.
Interior
The biggest change inside appears to be the shedding of the touchpad interface for the multimedia system; it’s replaced by a circular knob control with dedicated buttons around it for commonly used features like the audio system, phone or navigation (if equipped). The multimedia screen is still 10.2 inches and has 1080-pixel HD resolution.
Under the Hood
Under the hood of the CT6 V-Sport is a brand-new engine that is exclusive to Cadillac, according to Automotive News. Cadillac calls the engine a “clean-sheet design” with a few unique engineering flourishes that allow it to remain compact enough to fit into the CT6’s engine bay, which otherwise holds a four-cylinder or a V-6.
The twin-turbocharged 4.2-liter V-8 makes dizzying power numbers: 550 horsepower and 627 pounds-feet of torque. The turbochargers actually sit in the middle of the “V” formed by the cylinders, which Cadillac says also helps eliminate turbo lag, as they’re mounted closer. A 10-speed automatic transmission and a retuned all-wheel-drive system with a mechanical limited-slip differential in the rear and revised torque split are both standard. There are also tweaks to the steering and magnetic-ride-control shock absorbers for sportier engagement.
The CT6 V-Sport’s 20-inch wheels are wrapped in summer-only performance tires, developed exclusively for Cadillac. There is also a new 19-inch Brembo brake system — also said to be tailor-made for the CT6 — to bring things to a quick halt when needed.
Safety
Interestingly, Cadillac will not offer its superb Super Cruise system on V-Sport versions of the CT6; it will, however, be offered on the other CT6 trim levels. Further available safety features include forward collision alerts, forward and reverse automatic emergency braking, blind spot warnings, lane keep assist, night vision in the instrument panel, around-view monitor, automatic parking assists, front pedestrian detection and a surround-vision recorder, which serves as a front and rear dash cam when driving and activates the 360-degree camera system when the security system is activated. There is also one final new feature available on the 2019 CT6 that’s worth noting: rear pedestrian detection.
No word yet on the 2019 CT6 V-Sport’s price or release date, but I’m champing at the bit to get behind the wheel of one.
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