The Cadillac Blackwing V8 (GM RPO ''LTA'') is a

twin-turbo Twin-turbo (not to be confused with a twincharger setup, which is a combination of a supercharger and a turbocharger) refers to an engine in which two turbochargers work in tandem to compress the intake fuel/air mixture (or intake air, in the case ...

DOHC An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion c ...

V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and us ...

that was produced by the Cadillac Division of

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

for use in its CT6-V between 2018 and early 2020. It is a clean sheet engine design, as well as the Division's first ever twin-turbo V8 engine. The engine was branded as the "Blackwing V8" by GM technicians, and is the first Cadillac-exclusive dual overhead cam V8 engine since the Northstar V8 was dropped in 2011. The

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...

cylinder block In an internal combustion engine, the engine block is the structure which contains the cylinders and other components. In an early automotive engine, the engine block consisted of just the cylinder block, to which a separate crankcase was attac ...

features pressed-in iron liners, cross-bolted main bearing caps and houses a lightweight

forged steel Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compressive forces. The blows are delivered with a hammer (often a power hammer) or a die. Forging is often classified according to the temperature at which it ...

crankshaft A crankshaft is a mechanical component used in a piston engine to convert the reciprocating motion into rotational motion. The crankshaft is a rotating shaft containing one or more crankpins, that are driven by the pistons via the connecting ...

, forged steel

connecting rod A connecting rod, also called a 'con rod', is the part of a piston engine which connects the piston to the crankshaft. Together with the crank, the connecting rod converts the reciprocating motion of the piston into the rotation of the cranksh ...

s and high strength

hypereutectic A eutectic system or eutectic mixture ( ) is a homogeneous mixture that has a melting point lower than those of the constituents. The lowest possible melting point over all of the mixing ratios of the constituents is called the ''eutectic tempe ...

aluminum

piston A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors, hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tig ...

s. There are four sodium-filled valves per cylinder. The

intercooled An intercooler is a heat exchanger used to cool a gas after compression. Often found in turbocharged engines, intercoolers are also used in air compressors, air conditioners, refrigeration and gas turbines. Internal combustion engines Most ...

turbocharger In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

s are mounted between the cylinder banks in a so-called hot-V configuration and their

twin scroll In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

design broadens their performance capability, offering quicker response and greater efficiency. These produce up to and are matched with electronic

wastegate A wastegate is a valve that controls the flow of exhaust gases to the turbine wheel in a turbocharged engine system.Robson, D. (2018). Aircraft General Knowledge. Aviation Theory Centre Pty Ltd. . Diversion of exhaust gases regulates the turbine ...

control for more precise boost management and more responsive torque production. Ninety percent of the engine's peak torque is available at 2000 rpm and carried through 5200 rpm. Other features include

direct fuel injection Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All compr ...

camshaft phasing, variable displacement/start-stop cylinder deactivation, and variable-pressure oiling system with piston-cooling oil jets. All versions were to come equipped with the Ford 10L90 10-speed

automatic transmission An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving c ...

and Cadillac's

all-wheel drive An all-wheel drive vehicle (AWD vehicle) is one with a powertrain capable of providing power to all its wheels, whether full-time or on-demand. The most common forms of all-wheel drive are: ;1x1 : All unicycles Reflecting one axle with one w ...

system. In spite of its power and sophistication, high cost to produce the engine and low demand for the CT6-V led to its cancellation in early 2020, before it could be expanded to Cadillac's

Escalade {{Unreferenced, date=May 2007 Escalade is the act of scaling defensive walls or ramparts with the aid of ladders. Escalade was a prominent feature of sieges in ancient and medieval warfare, and though it is no longer common in modern warfare, ...

line.

Production

When Cadillac introduced the new CT6-V in March 2018, the production was limited to 275 units for the US market. The entire allocations were sold out in minutes as soon as the pre-order book was opened in January 2019. Cadillac did not anticipate the strong demand and introduced the second CT6 model with detuned Blackwing engine: CT6 4.2 Platinum, which sold out quickly as well.

Cancellation

Cadillac intended for the Blackwing V8 engine to be exclusive for its flagship sedan, CT6, and stillborn larger sedan, Escala. However, the CT6 was a poor seller during its entire model run and was cancelled in February 2020. With estimated production cost of $20,000 per engine, the Blackwing V8 would be too expensive for Escalade when somewhat over half the performance is available from GM's 3.0-litre twin turbocharged LGW High Feature V6 engine.

Versions

{, class="wikitable sortable" , +Engine !Years !Model !Power !Torque , - , rowspan="2", 2019 & 2020 ,

Cadillac CT6 The Cadillac CT6 (short for ''Cadillac Touring 6'') is a full-size luxury car manufactured by Cadillac. The CT6 was introduced at the 2015 New York International Auto Show and went on sale in the U.S. in March 2016. It is the first car to adopt ...

4.2 Platinum , @ 5,700 rpm , @ 3,200-4,000 rpm , - ,

-V , @ 5,700 rpm , {{convert, 640, lbft, 0, abbr=on @ 3,200-4,000 rpm , -

References

Cadillac engines General Motors engines V8 engines Gasoline engines by model

Production

Cancellation

Versions

See also

References