- Quaint Victoria coupe
- Legendary Leland-designed V-8 engine
- Recipient of a 770-hour restoration
Cadillac ushered in 1915 with the first American mass-produced V-8
engine. Designed by D. McCall White, a Scottish-born engineer, the
L-head engine used two cast-iron blocks with integral heads,
mounted on an aluminum-copper-alloy crankcase. With the banks of
cylinders directly opposite one another, it used Leland's preferred
fork-and-blade connecting rods. Introduced in the 1915 Type 51, it
carried forward to the Type 57. Nineteen-twenty brought a new Type
59, with modest mechanical improvements, among them an
exhaust-heated intake header.
Body contours changed somewhat, and closed cars were very much in
the majority. Open styles numbered just three: roadster, phaeton,
and seven-passenger touring. Among the closed styles was the
Victoria, a four-passenger roomy coupe. Access to the two-person
rear seat was gained by folding the front passenger seat forward.
For 1921 the same styles were carried over with virtually no
changes. Production suffered, however, as the company consolidated
operations to a new plant on Clark Avenue in Detroit. Just 11,300
cars were made in the calendar year.
This Type 59 Victoria was shipped to Neel Cadillac, the
Philadelphia dealer, on 3 October 1920 and delivered to the
customer, D.M. Groome, of Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, on 2 April 1921. It
was purchased by the Merrick Auto Museum in 1997 from Irving Kramer
of West Bloomfield, Michigan. The recipient of a 770-hour
restoration, it is burgundy with black fenders and upper body.
Upholstered in tan pleated cloth, it has roller shades on the rear
and side windows. Twelve-spoke varnished-wood artillery wheels
carry 34 � 4� blackwall tires on 23-inch demountable rims. The
radiator cap carries a Cadillac crest MotoMeter, and the dashboard
has a pull-out electric cigarette lighter.
Based on precision and prestige, Cadillac assumed the mantle as
"The Standard of the World." This car is an excellent example of
just that.To view this car and others currently consigned to this
auction, please visit the RM website at
rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/hf19.
