Arguably Cadillac’s most iconic model year
One of just 710 ever built in 1959
Meticulously handcrafted
If there was one year in which Cadillac finally threw every last trace of restraint overboard, it was 1959. Harley Earl’s final major design project produced those tailfins that would come to symbolise an entire era. On the Series 75, the spectacle was given a few extra metres of stage.
Since the 1930s, the Series 75 had been Cadillac’s grand chauffeur-driven saloon. Built on a wheelbase considerably longer than that of the regular models, it was offered as the Sedan and Imperial Sedan, the latter with a division between driver and rear compartment. Folding occasional seats provided room for up to nine occupants, while generous quantities of chrome and countless electric conveniences ensured that sheer size was accompanied by suitable opulence and the highest levels of comfort.
Beneath the seemingly endless bonnet, Cadillac’s V8 had grown to 390 cubic inches, or 6.4 litres, for 1959. Around 325 SAE horsepower reached the rear wheels through a Hydra-Matic automatic transmission. With well over two tonnes to move, this was less about sporting ambitions than making progress as effortless as possible.
At almost six metres long, the Series 75 was hardly a car for anyone wishing to arrive unnoticed. Its enormous tailfins, twin tail-lights and expanses of chrome made it quite a sight even among other 1959 Cadillacs. Just 710 examples of the 9-Passenger Sedan and 690 Imperial Sedans were built by hand. The number of Commercial Chassis supplied for ambulance and hearse bodies was considerably greater.
This Series 75 Sedan arrived in Austria from Australia in the spring of 2013. Quite how it had found its way Down Under is not recorded. What is known is that it was still being driven in Texas as late as 2008. Almost as impressive as its vast dimensions is the condition of what appears to be its original cloth interior.
After years of standing idle, the robust mechanicals will require some attention. Once this enormous motor car is moving under its own power again, it is likely to make an even greater impression.