Vehicle Description
This 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham hardtop is one of 99 built.
Coachwork was done by famed Italian coachbuilder Pininfarina, best
known for the styling of Ferrari and Alfa Romeo automobiles. These
1959 Eldorado Broughams are unlike any other 1959 Cadillac model
with unique body panels, bumpers and trim. With an original sticker
price of nearly $14,000, these were twice the cost of an Eldorado
Biarritz convertible and even more expensive than a Rolls-Royce.
Car #53 has come from long-term California ownership and is in
original condition. One repaint was done in its original black
color, but the gray broadcloth interior is all-original. This car
has 52,152 original miles (the title reads mileage exempt), and is
powered by the original 390ci V8 engine mated to a Hydramatic
automatic transmission. Cadillac's 1959 model lineup included an
all-new, second-generation Eldorado Brougham. But this Brougham did
not come from the Fleetwood plant in Detroit; it was hand-built
4,000 miles away in Turin, Italy, by Pininfarina. Pre-tested
Cadillac chassis were crated and shipped to Italy by boat, and the
completed cars were shipped back to Detroit for final finishing,
testing and shipment to dealers. Cadillac air conditioning, cruise
control and automatic headlamp control were included as standard
equipment among its many features, and the interiors were styled
and fashioned in a great variety of elegant selections of the
world's choicest leathers and fabrics. This partnership with the
Italian coachbuilder was the first of a number of times that
Cadillac would put an Italian body on an American chassis and
powertrain.
