This certainly isn't the horrible reclothed Saab we were punished with in the mid-2000s. The new Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing is nothing less than a thoroughbred performance saloon created to battle it out with the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, BMW M3 Competition and Mercedes-AMG C63 S.
Based on General Motors' Alpha platform, it follows on from the well regarded ATS-V. But in a last hurrah for both high-powered petrol engines and sports saloons, Cadillac's engineers have thrown everything at the new Blackwing flagships, which also include the BMW M5 CS-rivalling CT5-V Blackwing.
The BMW 3 Series-size saloon misses out on its bigger brother's glorious supercharged 6.2-litre V8, instead getting an uprated twin-turbocharged 3.6-litre V6 with an upgraded lubrication system, a new intake, a new exhaust and fresh turbos. This is combined with either a slick-shifting six-speed manual gearbox or an even swifter Ford-GM 10-speed automatic.
Four-wheel drive isn't an option; instead the 472bhp and 445lb ft of torque are channelled to the rear wheels via an electronically controlled limited-slip differential.
Up front, there's the usual pseudo-MacPherson strut, while at the rear there's a five-link independent suspension set-up combined with GM's latest fourth-generation Magnetic Ride Control system.
Cementing its status as an engineers' car, the CT4-V Blackwing shuns the usual big wheels, coming with 18in staggered rims that are wrapped with specially formulated Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber.