The New Cadillac Blackwing With Precision Pack Is the Best Sport Sedan On Sale - TheSmokingTire

Hello and welcome to ballground Georgia. No, really, that's where I'm at. Cadillac has invited me here to try the new refreshed CT5V Blackwing with Precision Package. The new Blackwing's got a refreshed front fascia, a big screen on the inside, and the $9,000 Precision Package, which you have to take the $9,000 carbon ceramic brakes to get. It's got a bunch of tightened suspension bits and little things that you really need to do at the manufacturer level to affect change. They say it's not just a, quote, hot rotted Blackwing. So we're going to take a little drive on the street, and then we're going to take some laps around the track to find out if I can feel the difference. Ballground. We're in ballground. Guys, holiday season, think about it. What is a gift that your friend, brother, cousin, spouse, partner will love? And everyone who goes into their home will start asking them about it. You already know, they're right here. It's MovaGlobe, and I love these. 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Hit that link in the description, get one of these, and impress everybody who comes in your place with a MovaGlobe. And thank you to MovaGlobe for sponsoring us going on three years. We begin with a street drive. And why do we begin with a street drive? Well, to see if the precision pack has any negative effects on the street. If you make a car more focused for the track, surely there must be a compromise somewhere. Well, Cadillac has actually taken a lesson from Porsche in this regard, and there really isn't a whole lot of compromise. The ride does feel a hair firmer, but it's certainly nothing bothersome. And the steering, the inputs, they do feel a bit sharper and more direct. I mean, this is an actually very appropriate name for an option pack because it's not the track pack. It's not a stiffer anything, really. Even though certain components are stiffer, it is the precision pack. And that is literally what it does to this car. It just makes every input a little bit more precise. Ain't nothing wrong with that. And oh, by the way, I haven't driven a black wing in probably a year and a half, and I'm suddenly reminded of what a spectacular car this is. And even more so in the context of what's coming out now. I'm looking at you, M5 Touring, 5,000 pound plus. I was reminded that this car is 4,100 pounds, dear. That was a deer. You guys see that? That was a deer. I'm reminded that this car's 4,100 pounds, which, yeah, to a few people, that does sound like a lot. But in 2024, that is charmingly svelte. Ticons and Lucids and other very fast super sedans, particularly of the electric or hybrid variety, are substantially heavier than this. Plus, manual gearbox, rear drive, ceramic brakes, mag ride shocks, and a supercharged V8 making just shy of 670 horsepower. There is so much to like and so much to continue to like about the Blackwing. So much about it that will age gracefully. So much about it that has a lasting, collectible kind of effect, where it's not dependent on the latest tech to be great. This engine is so well placed in this car because they have made it so smooth and with such an enormously wide torque band that if you're in a gear too high, that's okay. You've got all the torque in the world. And if you're in a gear too low, well, that's also okay because the engine is so smooth that you can sit at 4,000 or 5,000 RPM all day long and not even really notice. Like, look, if I just go into third gear and I just sit here at 4,500 RPM, the car doesn't feel strained, doesn't feel rough, doesn't feel like, hey, shift me. It's just cool with that. And that's fantastic. The seat, carbon back, yes, but also heated, cooled, and massaging. So in terms of flexibility, I'm not sure, aside from maybe in the snow, I'm not sure that there is a more flexible sports sedan on the market today. Manual, automatic, both good. Seats, good for big people, good for small people, good for road trips, good for racetracks. Engine, reliable, dependable, resale value, excellent. Interior design, great. We've got this new big screen here and the big screen, which has a shape to it, now has native Google Maps. And what that means is it's Google Maps. Actually, it works really well. You can move the map around and do all the things you can do with your phone on Google Maps. And that's very good. Plus, it fills out. I'm still, look, I forgot I was in second gear. I was just talking about the maps. And meanwhile, I'm at 5,000 RPM in second gear. That's what this car does. You just forget to shift sometimes because it's smooth and quiet, so at least inside. And then, habibi, and then you go hammer down and holy shnikes, this thing is a rocket ship. But we're not here to visit the charming hamlet of ball ground. We're here to go to the racetrack. Atlanta Motorsports Park is right up the road, and that is where I'm going right now. And we can lean on the power, lean on the brakes, lean on the traction control, and see how precise the Precision Pack is on the track. Let's go. All right, kids. Welcome to Atlanta Motorsports Park. Sort of a country club track here. I was here 10 years ago, maybe 12 years ago, to drive the Aston Martin Rapid S. And the reason they chose this track as opposed to Road Atlanta is because everybody already knows that this has 668 horsepower, and that that is a ton. But they're talking with this Precision Package about the agility. So this is a tight and technical track that will hopefully show off the Blackwing's agility. We've got a manual car, and it has Cup 2R tires. That is the free, or it comes with Precision Pack. That's the choice. You can get PS4S or Cup 2. And I've got Cup 2 now. So this track is a little bumpy, definitely flowing and undulating. And hear that? So there's the traction control. It's in Race 2, which is its most permissive setting, but it's still going to kick in a bit. And this isn't the kind of track you want to have a whoopsie in. So we're going to leave it on, though, just a little bit on. Up and over this crest, funky little track here, Atlanta Motorsports Park. Extremely technical. And although this is still a big, heavy sedan, look at this exit corner here, this very long, flowing sweeper. Even though this thing has more power than tire, even though it's still a big, heavy car, what is happening with my hands and feet are that I am feeling stuff. I really can feel a hint of understeer as I turn it in. And then it's fighting that oversteer in the traction control on the way out. And this is an extremely tight technical. So now, yeah, now it wants to slide all over the place. Now I've got some heat into the tires. And even with Race 2 on, still getting oversteer. And if you load up that front, oh, there's the big, there's some rear end action. So, yeah, you can make it move even with the TC on. And if you leave it like fully, fully on, then it kills power pretty good. That's a crazy corner right there. And this is tricky. You got to go slower than you think. Off camber, uphill, tightens on the exit. Funky. But this car is so fast. And it's frankly, maybe a little too much for this circuit. But I think that's the point. I think that's what they want. Man, when you hit fourth, then it's like, then it's like things are really going. And it goes down to turn one here. It was a little early there, but trying to preemptively manage understeer. It takes curbs pretty well. It's not particularly upset by curbing. There we go. It's funny. I can't understand when it chooses to kill power and when it chooses to let you slide. Because like, there's obviously oversteer there. How interesting. I mean, this car though, when you consider that this is first and foremost, a luxury car and not a track car, this thing is really haul in the mail. If Bob Lutz was still running this company, the ads would just say fastest **** with massage seats. They probably won't get away with that today, but hot damn. See right now I can feel the traction control, even at 85 miles an hour is working there. I love the shifter throw. I love the feel of the clutch. That's light, but it really allows me to feel what's going on at the clutch. That's off camber downhill. That's a recipe for understeer. And we've got this all new PDR developed by Cosworth that is recording my lap time right now. And it's showing all my inputs, showing what the car is doing. And then in between this session and the next, I will be able to do some self-coaching using it because it's not just a lap timer. It's a sector timer, a corner timer, and more. This is a tricky section here. One of these times after this, I'm going to figure out how to best take that because I'm not really sure. Maybe the car will teach me. Woo, baby. This is some piece of hardware. Okay. Well, we're going to do a cool down. According to the PDR, my best lap was a 132.77, which I'm pretty sure I can improve on by the time I get out of here because I have some more track time in me. But not bad for really my first flyer session here. I went out yesterday on a ride along with Jordan Taylor, who is a hell of a driver. And he was doing 129s. So obviously, I do have room for improvement there. And I'm pretty sure where I can find it. Definitely a little more pace out of that big sweeper onto the front straight. Maybe figure out how to get through that sharp uphill complex that we're approaching a little faster. Maybe get into the traction control a little bit less in certain places that might actually mean less throttle. But man, you know, I came down to Atlanta, pretty sure I was going to like what they had done with this car. And I was not wrong. This car was awesome. And it continues to be awesome. And the best thing about it is all those people that bought the last one going on and on about how they're killing the V8 and it's the end of the road and you got to get it now. And then here's the facelift with a better suspension setup. And now they can play that game all over again. But wow, what a car. I'll talk about it more on the Smoking Tire podcast when I get back to California. But thank you to Cadillac for having me out here today. Good times were had. Thanks to you guys for watching. And I'll see you later. Bye. And remember, always fight your tickets on the Off the Record app available in the Android and iOS store, or go to off the record.com slash TST