Cadillac just revealed a new “hot vee” 4.2-liter twin-turbo V8, the brand’s first exclusive engine in 26 years. For now, the engine is only destined for the 2019 Cadillac CT6 V-Sport. That’s nice, but the real interest lies in what else Cadillac plans to do with it.
The new engine has two versions; a 550 HP and 500 HP, and each one is to be hand built, for now. But let’s imagine that might not always be the case, and the production volume for this engine can increase. What could we do with it?
The engine’s “hot vee” design makes for smaller packaging, which leaves the door for other applications wide open. Motor Trend has already confirmed with Cadillac assistant chief engineer John Rydzewski that he has “never been asked to look at packaging it in an ATS,” which is disappointing.
But that doesn’t mean Cadillac doesn’t have any other plans for the new engine. The company supposedly has green-lit a production version of the nice Escala concept, supposedly has another sedan in the pipeline, as well as a slew of new crossovers, and then there’s always its real flagship, the Escalade SUV. There’s a lot of potential for a hot new V8.
Let’s also imagine that this engine won’t stay with Cadillac forever. Let’s imagine it could pour over into the other GM brands at some point. What would you want to see?