Cadillac Would Like To Sell You a $260,000 F1 Car

Cadillac spent hundreds of millions of dollars to enter Formula 1 for the first time this year, but not just for the fun of it.Automakers compete in motorsports to develop new technology and to promote their brands. It is not often a direct moneymaking endeavor, but there are ways to leverage it to offset the costs. Cadillac’s latest model was designed to draw both attention and big checks.The CT5-V Blackwing F1 Collector Series is a Formula 1-themed limited-edition model designed to appeal to the team’s biggest superfans. The standard CT5-V Blackwing that has been on sale since 2022 is the brand’s sportiest model, but Cadillac improved its performance for this application by boosting its supercharged 6.2-liter V8 engine from an already-potent 668 horsepower to 685 horsepower.Cadillac is only offering it with a six-speed stick-shift manual transmission that directs all of the power to the rear wheels. This differs from today’s Formula 1 cars, which use a hybrid powertrain and paddles attached to the steering wheel for gear changes, but puts an exclamation point on the car’s sporting intent.The F1 Collector Series also gets a specially tuned suspension, lightweight carbon ceramic brakes and a set of summer-only tires that make it suitable for driving on a racetrack, but not snow.Interior: The 685 horsepower sports sedan is offered only with a six-speed manual transmission.The Formula 1 scene is all about style, however, and so is the car, which was created by the Curated by Cadillac department that can also hand-build a CT5-V Blackwing to a customer’s bespoke specifications.The F1 Collector Series is finished in a matte black Metallic Stone Frost paint, and it features carbon fiber rocker extensions with silver edging below the doors and a carbon fiber spoiler on the trunk lid.The authentic and licensed F1 logo is stamped into the front doors, embossed into the seats, 3D-printed into the gearshift knob and appears in bright red on the spoiler. The badge of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, or FIA, the organization that governs Formula 1, is also present on the rocker extensions and center console. Passengers are greeted by Cadillac Formula 1 Team sill plates as they enter the vehicle.Door: The model features F1 and FIA logos on both its exterior and interiorCadillac hasn’t announced any performance figures specific to the F1 Collector Series, but the standard CT5-V Blackwing can accelerate to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds and reach a top speed in excess of 200 mph.Despite the CT5 being a midsize four-door sedan and also sold in more sedate luxury-oriented trims, it is built on a platform that was once shared with the Chevrolet Camaro, and the CT5-V Blackwing is a very capable sports car that is happy to be tossed around a winding road course all day. I’ve done it many times myself.The few extra horsepower in the F1 Collector Series likely won’t make that much of a difference to how it drives, but it does give its owners bragging rights to owning the most powerful Cadillac ever sold with an internal combustion engine. The 750 hp electric Escalade IQ sits atop that hill, but the 9,000-pound SUV would have difficulty keeping up with the sedan around the streets of Monaco.Interested parties may want to try their luck in one of Monte Carlo’s casinos before they go shopping for the F1 Collector Series, as Cadillac is only selling 26 at $260,000 each to celebrate its inaugural 2026 season. That’s more than twice the base price of a run-of-the-mill CT5-V Blackwing.On the bright side, the F1 Collector Series cars will definitely be collectibles. The current CT5 is scheduled to go out of production by the end of this year and will be replaced by a next-generation car that is expected to debut in late 2027.

Cadillac Would Like To Sell You a $260,000 F1 Car

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