2022 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing vs. 2022 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody Jailbreak drag and track race article highlights:

• The 2022 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing and Dodge Charger Jailbreak are some of the last supercharged-V8 RWD sedans you can buy
• The Charger is more powerful but traction-limited while the Blackwing has a more track-focused mentality
• On a freshly re-surface drag strip, the Dodge Charge Jailbreak is faster, but the CT5-V Blackwing is noticeably faster around a racetrack

Dodge and Cadillac know that EVs are coming—they’re both working on some—but internal combustion’s bell hasn’t rung yet. And they both know exactly how to celebrate it. The Dodge Charger Hellcat is still kicking and snarling, and now comes in have-it-your-way Jailbreak form. Meanwhile, the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing is one sharp stick-shift sports sedan ICE send-off. But which one of these RWD super sedans is faster? To answer that, YouTube team Throttle House took to the track.

Supercharged sedan showdown: 2022 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing vs. 2022 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody Jailbreak

Let’s address the elephant in the room: the 2022 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody Jailbreak Edition’s long name. For brevity’s sake, I’ll address it as ‘Dodge Charger Jailbreak’ from here on out. But as long as it is, that title isn’t that hard to decode.

Mechanically, the Jailbreak is a Charger Hellcat Redeye Widebody with 10 more horsepower. For those keeping track at home, that makes it just one horsepower away from the infamous Demon. Unlike the Demon, the Jailbreak can’t run on race gas. But it does get some unique interior and exterior colors and trim features as well as the Redeye Widebody’s goodies. That means a wider track, wider tires, stiffer springs and adaptive shocks, stronger engine internals, and beefier anti-roll bars. Plus, it can chill its intercooler with the A/C.

On paper, the 2022 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing seems out-gunned by the Jailbreak. However, as it’s noticeably lighter, it doesn’t need 800-plus horsepower to be roughly as fast. And it gets even lighter with the optional carbon-ceramic brakes, something the Jailbreak doesn’t offer. You also can’t get the Jailbreak with a manual, but the CT5-V Blackwing celebrates the stick, complete with rev-matching and no-lift shifting.

Furthermore, the Cadillac isn’t just a straight-line speedster. GM’s latest-gen adaptive magnetorheological shocks and Performance Traction Management as well as excellent steering and a dynamite chassis made it a finalist for Road & Track’s Performance Car of the Year. And that matters for what Throttle House had in store.

This battle of speed is also a battle of traction

Because the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing and Dodge Charger Jailbreak fit into the muscle car segment, Throttle House naturally ran some ¼-mile drag races. The first one was from a standing start while the second was a rolling race. However, the hosts also took both super sedans around their local racetrack to set some lap times. And it’s here where the details truly matter.

Although the Hellcat-powered Chargers are fast, their 0-60 times don’t drastically shrink with more power. That’s because even the grippiest, widest tires can only handle so much horsepower at once. Launching a Hellcat is tricky, but launching a Redeye is trickier still, especially if you’re not a prepped surface. That’s not to say launching the CT5-V Blackwing is easy, particularly if it has a manual, which Throttle House’s tester did. But with less horsepower to worry about, it is easier.

In addition, while the Dodge Charger Redeye Widebody is better than you might think on a track, it’s not the sharpest sedan. The less-powerful M5 CS, for example, is faster around a track and in a straight line. And the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing beat the M5 CS in Car and Driver’s recent Lightning Lap by almost a second.

However, there’s a wrinkle in this competition. Shortly before the race, Throttle House’s local track re-surfaced its dragstrip. That means the pavement was grippier than normal. Theoretically, that makes the Charger easier to launch.

Which supercharged V8 sedan is faster, the 2022 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing or the 2022 Dodge Charger Jailbreak?

As it turns out, that traction hypothesis was correct. Thanks to the grippier surface, the 2022 Dodge Charger Jailbreak beat the manual Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing in a straight line. In both the standing-start and rolling-start races, the Charger was faster than the Blackwing. Though credit to the Caddy, it only lost the rolling race by a nose.

However, when corners got involved, it was a different story. Because the track surface wasn’t clean, Throttle House didn’t post the official lap times. But to make a long story short, the CT5-V Blackwing is the faster sedan on a track.

Follow more updates from MotorBiscuit on our Facebook page.