The just-announced news that GM is about to close three of its assembly plants and end production of six of its sedans has quite obviously shocked the motoring world. While it was not totally unexpected, the scale of the changes has caught many off guard, including President Trump.
The decline of the sedan market that contributed to some of these changes is nothing new, but there are still a few sporty GM sedans that we will be sad to see go, and two of the most interesting ones haven’t even been released yet. Namely, the upcoming twin-turbo V8 powered CT6-V that GM announced earlier this year.
The Detroit-Hamtramck plant that builds the Cadillac CT6 is scheduled to close by mid-2019 so we initially thought that the CT6-V was a non-starter, but a Cadillac spokesperson told Road and Track that both the V8 CT6 and the CT6-V will be built until the shutdown takes place.
That will make these two sedans a rare sight on the roads and allied with the cutting-edge new V8 should make them rather desirable in the years to come. In its base trim, the double-overhead cam ‘Blackwing’ twin-turbo 4.2-liter V8 will produce 500 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque while the more potent CT6-V will make 550 hp and 627 lb-ft.
The turbos will be placed inside the V of the engine just like in the pair's German rivals. While this engine may have a shortlived life under the hood of the CT6 it will continue to be fitted to certain unspecified future vehicles too. The CT6 will also continue on in China, although most likely in hybrid form, another model that was recently removed from GM’s local lineup.
So there you have it, from the carnage that is the GM sedan range. Thanks to their limited production run and big performance, the CT6 V8 twins may well become valuable collectors cars in the years to come. You will just have to wait a decade or two, but it's all the more reason to invest early.
