Hennessey turns Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing dial to 11, now produces 1,000bhp

Hennessey Performance has, predictably, decided the most powerful production car Cadillac has ever built is not nearly powerful enough. Because clearly, 668bhp, 0-60mph in 3.5 seconds and a 205mph top speed is comically pedestrian.

Step forth, the Texan tuner’s H1000 upgrade which has been engineered to turn the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing from America’s answer to the BMW M5 into America’s answer to Mount Vesuvius.

While on the one hand conceding that the CT5-V Blackwing is indeed Caddy’s heaviest hitter, Hennessey on the other hand admits it has always wanted to make ‘fast cars faster’. So that 6.2-litre small-block LT4 V8 has been treated to a suite of upgrades including ported cylinder heads, enhanced intake and exhaust valves, improved lifters and pushrods, oversized heat exchangers and long-tube stainless steel headers.

The factory supercharger is slam dunked into the nearest bin and in its place goes a high-flow supercharger. Then, Hennessey imports its own mapping for the ECU to marshal the resultant horses.

And there are now many. Hennessey quotes 1,000bhp and 966lb ft of torque – figures that'd make a supercar blush – while the 0-60mph time drops to 3.4s. Top speed is still over 200mph, though the quarter mile time now registers at 10.1s.

“Cadillac’s CT5-V Blackwing, fitted with GM’s supercharged LT4, was a natural candidate for our ‘Exorcist’ upgrade as it improves power considerably without affecting drivability,” said boss John Hennessey.

“Resurrected as an ‘H1000’, the four-door Cadillac is the fastest combustion-only luxury sedan on the planet. It is a rare high-water mark in a segment that will vanish by the decade's end.”

And to that end, this conversion comes with a two-year/24,000-mile warranty.