Everybody loves Easter eggs, right? Finding one is a great moment, especially if you happen upon it by accident, preferably while simply cleaning or poking around, but maybe because you had to dig around in some far-flung corner of the cabin in search of a persistent rattle or some other issue. A hidden symbol or message from the manufacturer helps remind us that some cars aren’t just appliances.
The 2022 Cadillac CT4-V and CT5-V Blackwings are perfect candidates. Not only are they niche enthusiast vehicles whose owners are likely to turn them inside out, but they also benefited greatly from Cadillac’s racing efforts, providing ample source material for subtle references all over the car, both inside and out. Enough, in fact, that Cadillac managed to stick more than two dozen of them into its two flagship sport sedans. And since I took delivery of my Blaze Orange CT4 last week, I decided to see if I could spot a few of them myself – because I don’t spend enough time crawling all over car interiors already.
Cadillac called several of them out in a press kit Tuesday. Manual-transmission cars like mine have blank-off plates installed where the paddles would go on the back side of the steering wheel, for instance. Rather than just leaving bare plastic that nobody would ever have a reason to look at, Cadillac had a small map of its Milford proving grounds printed on the plates.
Each Blackwing also gets a serial number on the wheel. 46-146 translates to CT4-V Blackwing 6-speed #146. CT5-V Blackwings decode similarly, though their model indicator digit is an 8 rather than a 5. While a steering wheel plaque is not exactly hidden, it’s among the items Cadillac noted, as are the “Blackwing” tags on the front seats; the subtle logo in the seatback Alcantara is something I spotted on my own. CT5-V Blackwing models with the carbon fiber seat package get their logos embossed in the seatback.
This brings us outside. While I know for a fact that there are several items hidden on the CT4-V‘s underbody (we got to look at these on a lift back in July), there are a couple of obvious items scattered in more accessible locations. The subtle Cadillac crests in the taillights aren’t unique to Blackwing, but they’re still nicely done. The stylized “V” in the hood insulation layer looks pretty nice too.
The hidden items differ between the CT4 and CT5-V too, as illustrated by the two wheel images above. The one on the left is a CT5-V Blackwing I shot at VIR, and you can see the etched Blackwing logo in the inner lip of the barrel. The Satin Graphite wheels on my car (right) get the stylized “V” logo; I’m not actually sure whether that’s forged or cast, but it’s pretty cool regardless. The others get unique treatments of their own.
There’s also this little gem. This is an item Cadillac has chirped about since before we even saw the production Blackwings, but it is admittedly pretty cool. This small insert with the six-speed’s shift pattern is 3D printed, and the Mondrian pattern built into it is meant to be evocative of the Cadillac crest. I liked it so much that I snagged a spare. You know, just in case. That’s all I’ve found for now, but expect me to keep you apprised of the triumphs and pitfalls of Blackwing ownership — when it’s not winter in Michigan, anyway.
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Source: www.autoblog.com