A supercharged V8 engine, sedan bodystyle and manual transmission are three ingredients that have all but disappeared from today’s new car market. Especially in Australia, where homegrown performance heroes are long gone, sports sedans are nowhere near as plentiful as they once were thanks to the demise of cars like the Holden Commodore, Ford Falcon, Chrysler 300C, Kia Stinger… even the Volkswagen Passat is no longer sold here.

But in other parts of the world, there are still options and the USA makes probably the tastiest in the world right now: the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing.

You might be thinking “but hang on, Cadillac is sold in Australia, isn’t it?”. And that is correct. But thanks to a lack of right-hand production for the brand’s ICE models, only electric vehicles in the Caddy stable are sold in Australia, like the Lyriq mid-size SUV, with the smaller Optiq and larger Vistiq due later in 2026.

As such, Caddy’s petrol-powered models are off limits for us, for now – despite other petrol vehicles in the General Motors Special Vehicles stable such as the Chevrolet Silverado converted to right-hand drive locally.

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It’s unlikely to ever be sold here, so why lust after the CT5-V Blackwing? Well, it’s got a 6.2-litre supercharged V8 engine making 498kW of power (that’s 668 horsepower) and 893Nm of torque. Power is sent only to the rear wheels via a 10-speed automatic, or in a big move to please enthusiasts, a six-speed manual.

Sitting on GM’s ‘Alpha’ platform – shared with the latest Chevrolet Camaro, which was converted to RHD and sold in Australia for around 18 months until 2020 – the CT5-V Blackwing uses expensive features such as adaptive dampers, Brembo brakes and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres to ensure that it handles much better than you’d expect for an American car. Carbon-ceramic brakes are also optionally available. According to US media, it’s a monster at both the drag strip and on the track.

The exterior of the CT5-V Blackwing is appropriately sporty with big intakes, 19-inch alloy wheels, carbon fibre pieces and big exhaust pipes to show its intent further. Inside, the CT5-V Blackwing is dominated by a huge 33-inch display with a performance app for track driving, and inbuilt Google as well. The rest of the CT5-V Blackwing’s cabin is covered in carbon fibre and leather-like materials, as well as features such as 126-colour LED ambient lighting and a 16-speaker AKG sound system.

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Pricing in the USA for the CT5-V Blackwing starts at US$100,695 (just shy of A$150,000 at the time of writing) and optioning it with features like the automatic transmission (which includes GM’s ‘SuperCruise’ semi-autonomous driving system), carbon-ceramic brakes and a sunroof push the price towards US$140,000 (A$200,000). But an Audi RS7 Performance in the US, for example, is priced at least US$20,000 more – and a manual is unavailable with the RS7, giving the Caddy even more appeal.

Alas, like the Escalade, the CT5-V Blackwing is unlikely to make it to Australia anytime soon. But it’s nice to know that there are fast V8 manual sedans still on offer in some parts of the world. If you’re in a position to buy one, dear international reader, please do before you’re no longer able to.