There’s Only One Manual, V8, Rear-Wheel Drive Sedan Left In America

Once upon a time, the perfect sports sedan recipe was simple and readily available. You had a V8 engine up front, a manual gearbox and five seats in the middle, and drive sent to the rear axle. Those were simple times, and that recipe gave us some of the greatest cars of all time. From BMW M3s (E90) and M5s (E39) to more run-of-the-mill models like the Chevrolet SS and a plethora of American muscle sedans, there was an abundance of cars that fit that brief. But in the year of our Lord 2024, there is just one sedan left with a V8, a manual gearbox, and rear-wheel drive: the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing.

The Best Performance Sedan Ever?

By now, you know the CT5-V Blackwing’s headline figures, with the supercharged 6.2-liter V8 engine pumping out a thunderous 668 horsepower and 659 lb-ft of torque. Whereas the BMW M5 and performance sedans of its ilk have paired that much power with AWD for the better part of a decade, Cadillac’s defiance of driving the front axle is admirable. But making the manual standard? That’s worthy of parades through the streets.

The manual is a six-speed unit sourced from transmission specialists Tremec, featuring No-Lift Shift functionality and Active Rev-Matching for the most performance possible from a car with three pedals.

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With one of the most beautifully balanced chassis, a long wheelbase, keen steering, and the ability to row gears yourself, the CT5-V Blackwing puts in a strong shout for being crowned one of the best performance sedans ever built. The only problem is that this has officially been crowned the final send-off for the ICE-powered Cadillac V series, and while the manual was retained for the 2025 facelift (thanks to a nearly 50 percent take rate for the six-speed in 2023), when the CT5-V Blackwing thunders off into the night, it’ll take that six-speed with it.

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The Number Of Rear-Wheel Drive V8 Sedans Is Dwindling

The premise for this article was based on my research into how long we have left with V8 RWD sedans; I was reminded that even the bastion of modern muscle car excess, the Dodge Charger, doesn’t have a manual gearbox anymore and hasn’t for a few years. In my mind, Dodge was the last bastion of V8 cars with a manual gearbox, but that’s only really true of the Challenger. Even then, there are only 997 Challengers left in stock nationwide with a V8 and a manual gearbox sending drive to the rear axle.

But what V8 sedans are still left with rear-wheel drive? I could only find two that weren’t the CT5-V Blackwing, and both are no longer on sale for the 2024 model year. Instead, you have to shop existing stock, of which the numbers are few and the dealer markups high:

• 2023 Dodge Charger – Production ended in 2023 of the Dodge muscle sedan, but there are still 6,063 examples at dealerships or in transit to dealerships that fit the criteria of having RWD and a V8 engine. Of those, 1,841 have the 5.7-liter Hemi V8; 3,701 are equipped with the 6.4L SRT Hemi V8; and just 521 examples have the supercharged 6.2-liter V8.
• 2023 Chrysler 300 – Chrysler said goodbye to the 300 with a 6.4-liter Hemi-powered 300C, but that ended production last year and sold out quickly. But you can still buy a dealer-stock 300S equipped with the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 and RWD. We found just 312 units still left on sale.

• 

  2023 Dodge Charger

  Base MSRP

  $35,325

  Engine

  3.6L V6 Gas

  Horsepower

  292 hp

  Fuel Economy

  19/30 MPG

  Torque

  260 lb-ft

  Transmission

  8-Speed Automatic

  Drivetrain

  Rear-Wheel Drive

  Expand

• 

  2023 Chrysler 300

  Base MSRP

  $36,145

  Engine

  3.6L V6 Gas

  Horsepower

  292 hp

  Fuel Economy

  19/30 MPG

  Torque

  260 lb-ft

  Transmission

  8-Speed Automatic

  Drivetrain

  Rear-Wheel Drive

  Expand

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