Location: Santa Monica, California

$160,000 - $180,000 USD | Not Sold

• 331-cid, 210-hp overhead-valve V-8
• Hydra-Matic automatic transmission
• Beautiful restoration; original running gear reported
• Only 532 examples built in 1953
• Continental kit
• Power top retracts under flush body-toned cover
• Power windows & wire wheels
• When released; most expensive GM car to date

Cadillac was celebrating their 50th anniversary in 1953. The cars it presented to the market for this important milestone were emblematic of its stature as “The Standard of the World.” In many ways, Cadillac felt it was a turning point “for it not only brings to a close one of the most brilliant chapters in automotive history – the first half-century of Cadillac leadership - but it also begins the second half-century of Cadillac progress and development.” Management and advertising heralded all of the good and wonderful things Cadillac had pioneered and achieved while touting a new era of automotive advancement.

Cadillac promised that the new-for-1953 would spare nothing by way of styling, of engineering or of craftsmanship. The Cadillac was designed without compromise and built to the most exacting standards that could be implemented in motorcar production methods of the period. Big, luxuriously equipped, opulently trimmed and powerful, the 1953 Cadillacs deserved their position at the top of the General Motors line. These were cars to which a generation aspired. The Eldorado, at $7,750, was the most expensive GM car to date. This lofty sum was 90-percent above the sticker on a standard Series 62 convertible and nearly $2,000 more than the next most expensive model, the Series 75 Fleetwood Imperial Sedan.

The long and low appearance of the Eldorado is no mere illusion. It actually rode lower than the standard Series 62 convertible, and it is easily distinguished by its fender dip. The four fenders, trunklid and floorpan are the only major body panels that are shared intact with the standard convertible; the hood, cowl, doors and body shell were coachbuilt by the craftsmen of Fisher/Fleetwood. The chassis and powertrain were basic Series 62: 331-cid, 210-hp overhead-valve V-8 and GM’s excellent Hydra-Matic four-speed self-shifting transmission; the exhaust handsomely ports through slots in the rear bumper.

All Cadillacs had a 12-volt electrical system, a sign of things to sweep the industry during the next three years. The running gear in this Eldorado is reported as being original to the car.

Beautifully restored, this 1953 Eldorado is gorgeous in red with black soft-top and red interior with subtle white accents. The Eldorado came with a host of features such as whitewall tires, wire wheels, signal-seeking radio, foglights, automatic heating system, fender skirts, windshield washers, license plate frames and power steering. This Eldorado also has a Continental kit, power windows and dual mirrors. The power-operated top is concealed under a body-color flush-fit hatch that gives the cleanest lines possible for this Harley Earl era design.

The firewall data tag shows paint code 27 (Alpine White) and trim code 38 (Red color family) as the original presentation; however, with but 532 of these uncommon cars built, it would be easy and tempting to want the car suited to your own fashionable tastes, as Cadillac intended.

https://rmsothebys.com/auctions/ca16/lots/r0158-1953-cadillac-eldorado/