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The Cadillac CT6 sedan might be dying in America after a short and tumultuous life here, but that doesn’t mean its performance variant, the CT6-V, has been forgotten. Instead, the CT6-V is here, drowning out its close relative’s problems with a 550-horsepower twin-turbocharged V8 and a base price of $88,790.




Oh, and those looking to get in on the fun might want to hurry, maybe. Cadillac said it’s capping preorders at 275 models in the U.S., although it isn’t clear what exactly that means.

Cadillac announced preorders for the first-ever CT6-V on Monday, saying the car would come around midway through 2019. The car is powered by Cadillac’s Blackwing 4.2-liter twin-turbo V8 engine, which Cadillac rates at 550 HP and 627 lb-ft of torque. (The CT6-V, you’ll remember, started as the CT6 V-Sport, announced early last year with the same power stats and a 10-speed automatic.)


The car and its nearly $90,000 base MSRP include a pass to the Cadillac’s two-day V-Performance Academy driving school at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Nevada. The price of the school and accommodations starts at $2,470 without a car, and we’ve been a couple of times, if you’re interested.

What’s odd here is that preorders on the CT6-V are capped at 275 in the U.S., but Cadillac didn’t mention anything special about the first 275 cars that’ll go out to customers. When Jalopnik asked about the preorder cap and if it means anything, like an eventual production cap, a Cadillac spokesperson said there “will be more CT6-Vs arriving, along with Blackwing V8 Platinum models.”

The spokesperson didn’t say what benefit there is to being part of the 275 preorders on the car, other than just getting in on things early.

We also asked about the CT6-V in general, since there’s been a lot of news about discontinued cars out of General Motors lately. Although we barely knew it since it came out in 2015, the regular CT6 is getting the axe on June 1, while Cadillac continues to say that its V performance models aren’t going anywhere.


It’s even in the press release about the CT6-V preorders:

“The 2019 CT6-V marks the expansion of the V-Series sub-brand and is the proof point of Cadillac’s commitment to build high-performance vehicles as we continue our product offensive,” said Steve Carlisle, president of Cadillac. “Fans of Cadillac will see high-performance variants across our portfolio.”


We asked the Cadillac spokesperson if the CT6-V would be around awhile, kind of like the ATS sedan died but the V stayed around. They gave the usual answer, which is that automakers “typically don’t discuss future product plans.”

No matter how long or short our time might be with Cadillac’s V cars, it’s good to have them around—even if we’re not sure what the advantage is to ordering them early.