Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing Review

Cadillac built the car that BMW and Mercedes stopped building, and then priced it below both. A supercharged 6.2 litre V8 makes 668 horsepower, the standard gearbox is a six-speed manual with rev matching you can switch off, and the chassis uses magnetic dampers that remain the best adaptive damping fitted to anything at this money. It rides better than an M5 and steers with more feel than an AMG, which is not the order anyone expected.

The cabin is where the money did not go, with switchgear and screens that feel a class below the badge and a design that ages quickly. Fuel economy is poor and the supercharger makes town driving genuinely thirsty. Against that, running costs are American rather than European, so a service is a normal number and parts exist outside a dealer. The surprise is resale, which has been unusually strong because supply is small and everyone now understands that nobody will build this again.