V goes out like it came in—with an angry roar.Is this the end, or at least a version of the end? The days of manual transmissions and big supercharged V-8 engines appear to be drawing to a close, and we’re beyond sad to see them go.

The CT5-V Blackwing’s Precision Performance Package cuts seconds off track times and doesn’t upset street manners, but is it worth $18,000?

If you told anyone in the automotive industry 21 years ago that Cadillac would eventually produce the most driver-centric and trackable manual transmission super sedan on the market, you would lose all credibility for making such an outlandish claim.

We're seeing what happens when the practicality of the 2025 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing is double-underlined with a new long-roof body, as seen in these images.

It’s hard to tell what’s crazier: that Cadillac is the last remaining automaker to offer a performance sedan with a V-8 and a manual transmission, or that the engineers behind the CT5-V Blackwing managed to push through the Precision package for the 2025 model year.

I thought the CT5-V Blackwing was the perfect luxury sports sedan, and there was no way for Cadillac to make it any better. It's a good thing I don't run GM's luxury brand, because the 2025 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing has somehow taken a perfect formula and enhanced it even more.

Add the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing Precision Package to that club. There are new, sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires, stiffer springs and bushings, new rear toe links for additional rear camber,

Cadillac didn’t need to do this. No one would’ve batted an eye had the CT5-V Blackwing carried on with its original, 668-hp recipe until the book closed on its thundering V-8-with-a-manual party of one.