If you just clicked on the link to this article, it’s likely you have more than a passing curiosity about either the Cadillac Blackwing, about running tour laps at the NCM Motorsports Park, or (ideally) about BOTH. Regardless of your answer, we’ve got you covered. What follows is Corvsport.com’s review of the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing Tourlap Experience at the NCM Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
As many of our regular readers know, we normally focus our attention on the various Corvette driving experiences available at the NCM Motorsports Park. We’ve previously reported on the park’s Drive Your Own Car Tour Laps, the C7/C8 Corvette Tour Laps, and the Z06 and ERay driving experiences. We’ve also shared our experiences while attending the High Performance Drivers Introduction (HPDI), High Performance Driving Education (HPDE) and Driving Academy courses offered at the MSP throughout the year.
But when the management team at the Park shared with Corvsport.com that they’d added a Cadillac Blackwing to their liverie, we were more than a little intrigued! After all, the NCM Motorsports Park is best known for hosting Corvette-related driving experiences….and while the Blackwing is powered by virtually the same, supercharged 6.2L V8 engine found in the seventh-generation Z06 Corvette, its similarities to Chevrolet’s flagship sports car largely end there, outside some of a handful of shared “stock” components that have found their way into both of these cars.
The Cadillac Blackwing is moderately larger, longer and much heavier than the C8 Corvette, which makes it a bit more demanding on the track. The Cadillac measures in at more than sixteen feet (194.9 inches to be precise) long, with a wheelbase of nearly ten feet (116 inches). Comparatively speaking, the 2024 Corvette measures in at 182.3 inches in length with a 107.2 inch wheelbase, meaning that while the Cadillac IS longer, the proportions between the two cars are similar. Experienced drivers may register the similarities in promotion when driving each on the track.
Where things get a bit more harrowing is when we begin to compare weight and the relative handling (suspension and steering) of both cars. Where an eighth-generation Stingray weighs in at 3,535 lbs., the much heavier Cadillac Blackwing (when equipped with an automatic transmission), weighs in at 4,142 lbs., making the Cadillac 15% heavier than the same model year Corvette counterparts.
One of the byproducts of this added weight (and to a lesser degree, its overall dimensions) is a tendency to experience some understeer when driving this car, especially upon entering some of the more intense corners at speed while on the track. This is not a criticism of the car. In truth, I was very impressed with the car’s ability to navigate around the track’s more harrowing turns (including turn 6, 8, Deception (Turn 12) and the Sinkhole (turn 20)). Drivers just need to be aware of the inherent challenges presented when turning into/out of these turns with this car.
Let’s also discuss what made this experience great. First, the CT5-V Blackwing has developed a reputation of being an incredibly capable and powerful Cadillac. Friends, the reputation is well founded. The Blackwing has exceptional acceleration and it propels itself along mightily every time the driver can fully depress the accelerator pedal. We had no issues accelerating quickly past 100 mph in each of the track’s three straightaways….and the car remained stable and planted throughout.
What’s more, despite weighing in at more than two tons, the Blackwing provided excellent braking throughout my tour lap experience. The car comes equipped with massive Brembo brake components at all four corners, and the result is dramatic and powerful braking whenever you need it. At one point, as we charged down the front straightaway, I continued to accelerate deeper into the straight before liberally applying brakes. I wanted to see how quickly the car would decelerate from speed (I was well over 100 mph) before entering turn 1A and just how “grippy” the brakes really were.
Friends, I’ve driven the C8 Z06, the C8 ERay, several C8 Stingrays, and even my own C7 Z51 coupe, and I’d put the brakes on the Cadillac up against just about all of these. It’s all the more impressive to think about when considering the added weight and size of the Blackwing as compared to all of these Corvettes. Mind you, weight transfer plays a bigger role here, and you need to be strategic about when you apply the brakes and when you come off of them. While this is true in all track situations, the Cadillac’s added weight and size does require slightly more finesse…but you’ve also got banks of onboard computers that will help even the most inexperienced drivers avoid any harm on the track.
I share all these things here solely for the benefit of those readers who, like myself, wanted a more in-depth comparison of the Cadillac Blackwing to any of the Corvettes that can also be rented/driven at the NCM Motorsports Park.
