New York, New York – Cadillac’s upcoming 2019 CT6 V-Sport edition isn’t going for subtlety. General Motors plans to throw a 4.2L, twin-turbo V-8 into the sedan which is due out later this year.
Producing 131hp per liter, the power-dense engine should generate 550hp and 627 lb-ft of torque. An optional 500hp version will also be available.
“Cadillac’s performance technology reaches new heights with the new and exclusive 4.2L Twin Turbo V-8,” says Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen.
A “hot V” configuration transposes the conventional layout of the cylinder heads’ intake and exhaust systems to mount the turbochargers at the top of the engine – in the valley between the heads – to virtually eliminate turbo lag and reduce the engine’s overall packaging size.
In a conventional turbocharged engine, the cylinder heads receive pressurized air through ports at the top of the engine, and the exhaust exits through ports on the lower outside of the heads into manifolds connected to the turbochargers.
The hot V design allows intake-charged air to enter through the lower outside of the heads and exit through the top inside – where the turbochargers are integrated with the exhaust manifolds – for quick spool-up that translates into more immediate power delivery.
Each engine will be hand-built at the Performance Build Center in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where GM builds Chevy Corvette sports cars.
Specifications
- Block material: A319 sand-cast aluminum with pressed-in iron liners
- Crankshaft: Forged steel
- Pistons: High-strength hypereutectic aluminum with friction-reducing polymer skirt coating
- Connecting rods: Forged steel with floating wrist pins
- Cylinder heads: Cast aluminum with 36mm intake valves and 29mm sodium-filled exhaust valves
- Compression ratio: 9.8:1
- Max boost: 20psi (1.38 bar/138kPa)
- Horsepower: 550hp @ 5,700rpm (estimated)
- Torque: 627 lb-ft (estimated)