Cadillac previews high-performance CT4, CT5 at Detroit Grand Prix

The ATS-V and the CTS-V will get true successors.

If you were disappointed by Cadillac's replacements for the ATS-V and the CTS-V, you weren't alone. The CT4-V and the CT5-V unveiled a few days ago are both significantly down on power and looks compared to their predecessors. As promised, Cadillac hasn't said its final word in the performance segment, and it previewed its true top-of-the-line horsepower flagships over the weekend.

The firm brought a pair of prototypes to the Detroit Grand Prix. While they were fully camouflaged, we can tell they stand out from the previously-unveiled V-badged variants with model-specific body kits that add a different grille, deeper bumpers on both ends, and a bigger spoiler out back, among other changes. Grand Prix attendees confirmed there are more changes under the hood.

While Cadillac hasn't released technical specifications, both prototypes sounded as mean as they looked. We expect the CT4-based model will arrive with a powerful V6 engine, and the CT5-based sedan will get a V8; it might be the twin-turbocharged, 4.2-liter Blackwing V8 from the CT6-V. It makes either 500 or 550 horsepower depending on how it's tuned, but Cadillac could squeeze over 600 horses out of it.

All told, the prototypes ask more questions than they answer. We don't even know what they will be called yet. The firm will release additional details about both V models in the coming months.