The early 2000s just about cemented BMW as the top dog in the modern luxury sporty sedan niche. Rivals like the all-wheel-drive Audi RS4 or the hilariously brutish Mercedes-AMG C63 offered differing takes on what a sports sedan could be, but neither could quite dance like Bavaria’s best on a back road. It all comes down to BMW’s ironclad formula, blending a potent engine, a manual transmission, power flowing through the rear wheels, and, crucially, sports car-like handling.
It’s a recipe that has netted BMW not just industry-beating sales numbers but coveted real estate in the minds of enthusiasts. How are other automakers to compete? Cars like the 2024 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing offer a compelling counterpoint. Its familiar recipe incorporates a 474-horsepower twin-turbo V6 with a manual transmission sending power to the back wheels. However, it does so while sporting a smaller footprint, more traditionally elegant styling, and a much lower starting price. Is the Blackwing appealing enough to lure a few diehards away from the reigning champ?
It’s worth taking a moment to clarify which version of the CT4 we’re talking about. The key word here is “Blackwing.” That’s how you know you’re looking at the sportiest variant of Cadillac’s 3-Series fighter, as the existence of a mid-tier CT4-V adds a bit of confusion. Within the carmaker’s lineup, the CT4-V Blackwing sits just below the CT5-V Blackwing, its 5-Series rival, allowing the American brand to go toe to toe with the German rival it seeks to dethrone.
Ignore my tester’s Cyber Yellow Metallic paint for a moment, and you’ll spot more than a few goodies that separate this Blackwing from its pedestrian siblings. Up front, it sports an extended front splitter, a restyled bumper, and gloss black trim throughout. These follow a set of extended side skirts that lead onto a widened rear diffuser housing a set of quad exhaust tips. An extended lid spoiler rounds out the list of changes.
Compared to its German rival, however, what stands out most is how much smaller the Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing is. While it weighs about as much as the M3 (around 3,800 pounds), the Caddy shrinks two inches in length, three in width, and one in height. A few inches may not sound like much, but they contribute significantly to the Blackwing coming across as a considerably smaller machine, visually and from behind the wheel. Considering how swollen the reigning champ has become, this is a major plus.
Point its nose towards a twisty back road and the CT4-V will continue to make its case. As you pick up your pace, the Blackwing comes alive with plenty of feedback through its chassis and steering, which, along with a very knotchy shifter, immediately immerse you in the experience. The twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter V6 that powers it, despite producing a healthy 472 hp and 445 pound-feet of torque output, is somewhat muted and often fades to the background. Even with the V’s exhaust flaps open, we get a relatively conventional high-pitched note you’d expect from a 90-degree V6, but nothing exceptional.
What is noteworthy, however, is just how sporty the Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing feels despite its attempts to double as a luxury car. We have its adaptive suspension with magnetic ride control to thank for this. Soft enough for long highway cruises but firm and stable enough on a back road, the Blackwing is a versatility and suspension tuning masterclass. Add a quick front end and you end up with an agile and lively back-road machine.
Its 18-inch wheels, although small by modern standards, are significantly lighter than, say, a set of 20s that have become so ubiquitous. By keeping its unsprung mass as low as possible, the CT4-V does an excellent job hiding its hefty curb weight and changing direction effortlessly. Its electronic limited-slip differential allows controllable slides out of corners on demand, while its quick and precise steering allows you to quickly catch and correct them.
Flat out, the Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing delivers respectable performance, a 4.1-second sprint to 60 for the manual-equipped car or 3.9 for the auto, and an 189 mph top speed. While on paper, at least, the Caddy hits 60 in precisely the same time as a non-Competition rear-drive M3, their real-world experience is drastically different on the count of the BMW punching way above its weight. In contrast, the CT4-V is quick enough with decent midrange torque, but it falls off towards the redline and doesn’t deliver the gut-busting punch its Bavarian rival does.
That said, the Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing is far cheaper than its competitor from across the pond. This 2024 tester costs $62,890, including a $1,395 destination fee. However, it adds $9,645 in optional extras, mainly attributed to over $4,900 in interior upgrades we’ll cover shortly. As such, it costs $72,535 once all is set and done, which is still considerably under the $76,000 or so a base M3 commands.
The Cadillac’s cost-cutting isn’t exactly well hidden, either. Step inside, and you’ll immediately see and feel trim and finishing that isn’t quite as polished as what you’d get from pricier competitors. While its digital instrument cluster pops with bright colors and excellent graphics, you count on delicate plastic buttons on the wheel to interact with it. The eight-inch touchscreen housed within its dashboard does offer all the smartphone connectivity you’d want, but it’s comparatively small and not quite as shark as the display used for the instrument cluster.
That aforementioned $4,900 interior upgrade goes a long way to making the Blackwing’s interior feel premium. It incorporates two-tone bucket-style seats with perforated diamond-stitched leather and red contrast piping. This duo-tone theme continues onto the door cars and the second row, matching nicely with this tester’s carbon fiber extras.
More importantly, do any of this Cadillac’s drawbacks truly matter? There’s certainly a case to be made that they don’t. It all depends on what you want out of a sporty sedan. If top-notch materials, the latest highest-definition displays, and a feeling that you’re piloting something expensive are essential, the Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing likely won’t be for you.
However, if we look back at those early 2000s BMW that took the segment by storm, they weren’t mainly known for these things. The M3 doubling as a luxury limousine is a recent development. Instead, what mattered most then was the driving experience.
The Blackwing is not perfect, but given the choice, it’d be the one to have if what you’re after is a driving thrill. It feels agile and relatively small while delivering plenty of feedback. Driving it is an immersive experience, and in a segment that often prioritizes outright speed over enjoyment, the Blackwing is a refreshing return to form that reminds us of what exactly made those sporty sedans of the past so memorable, to begin with.
