After receiving an interior overhaul for the 2025 model year that saw the installation of a 33-inch digital dashboard combining the instrument cluster and infotainment touchscreen, the Cadillac CT5 rolls into 2026 unchanged. But, in V-Series Blackwing form, the CT5 remains a standout in one area that is absolutely crucial to hardcore enthusiasts: The CT5-V Blackwing is the last mid-size sports sedan with an available six-speed manual transmission. For 2026, the CT5 starts at $50,095 (all prices include $1,495 destination charge).
Related: Which New Cars Have Manual Transmissions?
Release Date and Pricing
The 2026 Cadillac CT5 is on sale now. Full line pricing is as follows; the Blackwing’s pricing includes gas-guzzler tax.
- Premium Luxury: $50,095
- Sport: $51,095
- V-Series: $59,095
- V-Series Blackwing: $101,195
What Are the 2026 CT5’s Trim Levels?
As Cadillac’s entry in the popular mid-size luxury sedan class, the CT5 features an extensive list of standard equipment. It rides on 18-inch wheels and includes LED exterior lighting, rain-sensing windshield wipers, keyless entry and start, and remote start. Leather upholstery is standard, with power-adjustable, heated, ventilated and massaging front seats. Also standard are a heated steering wheel, dual-zone automatic climate control, a power tilt/telescoping steering column, wireless device charging, 15 speakers and ambient lighting. The 33-inch dash display features wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The Sport trim is largely the same as the Premium Luxury, but it includes black window trim, 19-inch wheels, and a body kit including a unique front bumper, sill extensions and a body-color spoiler. Inside, the Sport gets aluminum pedals and synthetic leather upholstery, but it does not have ventilated front seats.
Cadillac hones the CT5 V-Series for performance, fitting a sport suspension with adaptive dampers, Brembo front brakes, a limited-slip rear differential and dark-finish 19-inch wheels wrapped in summer performance tires. GM’s Performance Traction Management allows drivers more stability control choices, while launch control optimizes the vehicle for quick acceleration from a stop. Inside, the V features sport front seats and a 15-speaker AKG audio system.
Building off the V-Series foundation, the Blackwing features an even more aggressive suspension, widened front fenders, a unique front bumper with a splitter, Brembo front and rear brakes, a differential cooler, a hands-free power trunk lid and upgraded headlights that turn with the steering wheel. Inside, the perforated leather and ventilated front seats return, and Cadillac fits a thick-rim sport steering wheel, head-up display, 16-speaker AKG sound system, and Performance Data Recorder to shoot video and log data when on a racetrack.
More From Cars.com:
- 2025 Cadillac CT5-V, CT5-V Blackwing Refreshed With In-Car Driving Coach
- 2025 Cadillac CT5 Up Close: Be Happy It’s Still Here
- Cadillac Reveals Precision Package for 2025 CT5-V Blackwing
- Research the Cadillac CT5
- Find Your Next Car
Standard and Available Safety Features
Aside from the Blackwing’s head-up display, nearly all safety tech available on the CT5 is standard across the lineup. That’s because GM’s Super Cruise hands-free semi-autonomous highway-driving tech is standard, and the technologies that feed into it also enable numerous other functions. The list includes forward collision warning with pedestrian and bicyclist detection, automatic emergency braking, blind spot intervention, front and rear cross-traffic alert with automatic braking, adaptive cruise control, a driver attention monitor, a 360-degree parking camera and road-sign recognition. Automated parking is also standard.
The one exception is the Blackwing with its standard six-speed manual, which forfeits many of the systems whose operation would be complicated by the vehicle’s computers not having full control over the transmission, including Super Cruise and autonomous parking. (Opting for the automatic transmission, however, adds those functions back in.) Instead, the manual Blackwing gets lane departure steering assist and front and rear parking sensors.
What Are the 2026 CT5’s Powertrain Specs and MPG?
The standard engine in the CT5 is a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 237 horsepower and 258 pounds-feet of torque. A 335-hp, twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 is available in the Premium Luxury for $3,500 and makes 405 pounds-feet. The twin-turbo 3.0-liter also powers the CT5-V, but with an additional 25 hp, for a total of 360; torque is unchanged. A massive, supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 tortures the Blackwing’s rear tires with 668 hp and 659 pounds-feet.
A 10-speed automatic transmission is standard on every CT5 except the Blackwing, which comes with a six-speed manual; the 10-speed costs $5,875 on the Blackwing. Rear-wheel drive is standard on every CT5, and all-wheel drive is an additional $2,000 on the Premium Luxury, Sport and V-Series but is not available on the Blackwing.
Though official EPA ratings for the 2026 CT5 lineup are not yet available, they should stay the same as the 2025 model’s. The 2025 2.0-liter CT5 returns an EPA-rated 23/32/26 mpg city/highway/combined with RWD and 21/30/25 with AWD. With the twin-turbo 3.0-liter, the regular CT5 is rated at 19/28/22 with rear-drive and 18/26/21 with AWD. The V-Series slips to 18/27/21 with rear-drive and 17/26/20 with AWD. With either the six-speed manual transmission or the 10-speed automatic, the Blackwing returns 13/20/15 mpg.
Related Video:
We cannot generate a video preview.
Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.
