Hagerty assembles a drag race involving 2022 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing, 2022 BMW M5 CS, and a 2022 Tesla Model S Plaid. Despite being one of the fastest and quickest performance sedans from the internal combustion engine (ICE) world, both of these cars were left way behind in a drag race against the Plaid S.
Host Jason Cammisa can be seen singing all praise for the Cadillace CT5-V Blackwing for the rest of the review video. Ironically, all Blackwing Cadillacs of the future will no more be ICE — they will be electrified.
Our favorite Tesla pro driver Randy Pobst also joined the show later on to drive the BMW M5 most of the time. The legendary hall of famer conquered Pikes Peak with a Tesla Model S Plaid earlier this year and set a new EV lap record at the Laguna Seca Raceway with the same car.
Let’s go through a brief specs comparison of all 3 cars involved in this drag racing event to understand their performance potential.
| Tesla Model S Plaid | 2022 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing | BMW M5 CS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) | Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) | ICE |
| Motors/Engine | Tri-Motor – AC permanent magnet synchronous motor, carbon-fiber-wrapped rotor, liquid-cooled, with variable frequency drive (1x motor in the front, 2x motors in the rear) | 6.2L Supercharged V8 DI engine | 4.4-liter BMW M TwinPower Turbo V-8, 32-valve engine. Combines two turbochargers with variable valve control (Double-VANOS and Valvetronic) and high-precision direct injection |
| Drivetrain | AWD | RWD | AWD |
| Transmission | Front: Single speed fixed gear, 7.5:1. Enhanced lubrication, Rear: Independent single speed fixed gear, 7.5:1. Dry sump lubrication | 6-speed manual transmission | 8-speed M Sport Automatic transmission with Drivelogic, Sport and Manual shift modes, steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters |
| Acceleration 0-60 mph | 1.99 sec | 3.7 seconds | 3.2 seconds |
| Power | 1,020 hp | 668 hp | 600 hp |
| Torque | 1,050 lb-ft (Motor Trend) | 659 lb-ft | 553 lb-ft |
| Top speed | 200 mph (322 km/h)* | 200 mph | 189 mph |
| Launch contol | Drag Strip Mode | Yes | Yes |
| 1/4-mile time | 9.23 seconds | 11.30 seconds | 10.80 seconds (with 1 foot rollout) |
| Base price | $129,990 | $83,995 | $103,500 |
During the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing review in this video (below), the host admitted that this sports sedan uses 6.7 times more energy compared to the Model S Plaid. Looking at the EPA estimated fuel economy numbers, this Cadillac has horrible efficiency numbers of 15 MPG (13 city, 21 highway). BMW M5 CS is a little better with a combined 17 MPG (15 city, 21 highway).
While the ultra-powerful Tesla Model S Plaid has an astonishing 101 MPGe (102 city, 99 highway). Over 5 years, the Plaid S saves you $6,250 in fuel costs. But Cadillac CT5-V costs a whopping $11,000 and BMW M5 CS costs $8,500 more compared to an average new vehicle.
Glorifying these fuel emission monsters in this age and time is plain ridiculous, especially when they’re lacking in the performance arena as well.
Jason constantly bragged about how cool the handling of the Cadillac was — someone should tell him that Model S Plaid has torque vectoring and Tesla’s proprietry Track Mode software. Otherwise, how could the Tesla Plaid have garnered success on the challenging Pikes Peak track.
However, let’s watch how two of the most powerful ever ICE sports sedans are beaten by Tesla Model S Plaid with a big margin at the dragstrip.
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