1930 Cadillac Series 452A V16 Convertible Coupe

On January 4, 1930, at the New York Auto Show, a crowd of 20,000 people jostled for a glimpse of the new American 'Supercar,' the 16-cylinder Cadillac. Until that moment only Bugatti had produced a V16-cylinder engine and that was two eight-cylinder engines bolted together.

The Cadillac engine was the first 16-cylinder engine designed from scratch. The brainchild of Owen Nacker, it used a 45-degree bank angle and overhead valves which allowed a narrow width. It was also styled, with hidden wiring, polished aluminum and valve covers with brushed aluminum ridged surfaces. It developed 175 bhp, but even more impressive was low speed torque, 320lb ft assuring low speed operation that was silky smooth and very quiet thanks to hydraulic valve lifters. Much like today's cars, this was the first underhood area and engine to be styled by designers rather than engineers.

Cadillac delivered a total of 2,887 V-16 models in 1930; however, sales fell precipitously, as each was 'built-to-order,' becoming the official policy in 1933 when just 126 were ordered. Cadillac never envisioned selling records numbers – it was to put the world on notice that Cadillac was the topmost echelon of the American automobile industry.

The convertible couple, Style 4235, priced at $6,900, was the most expensive of the open two-seat cars. This car was built in the first week of June 1930 by Fleetwood in the Detroit factory making it truly a coachbuilt car. The windshield has a 21-degree rake, aiding the sleek profile and it has roll-up windows and a flush-fitting top. It is finished in the original colors and is one of only ten remaining.

Less than 10 cars remain of this body style and fewer matching numbers as in this example. This car appears in its original interior and exterior colors (Josselyn Gray body, Trafalgar Grey fenders, and Winosky Green wheels as specified on the original factory build sheet). It is a convertible coupe with coachwork by Fleetwood and originally priced at $6,900 - it was the most expensive open two-seater model offered by Cadillac.

Engine
The V-16 engine itself was an overhead-valve unit displacing 7.4 liters (452 cid) with a 3-inch bore and a 4-inch stroke. The 45-degree vee angle was chosen for chassis fit and serviceability. Engine structures at the time were usually multi-piece affairs, and the V-16 consisted of two V-8 cylinder blocks bolted to an aluminum-alloy crankcase. Cadillac had avoided straight-eight engines because of the concerns about harmonic vibrations with a long crankshaft, but the small bore meant the V-16 was reasonably compact—its five-bearing crank was actually slightly shorter than that of the contemporary Pierce-Arrow V-12. (Cadillac fitted a leaf-spring-type harmonic balancer, just in case.) Each bank had its own single-barrel updraft carburetor. The engine's aesthetics were as impressive as its engineering. All plumbing and wiring were concealed, and the engines were painted with black enamel trimmed with chrome and polished aluminum. The engine was rated at 165 horsepower at 3,400 rpm, and was designed to operate reliably at the then-heady speed of 4,000 rpm. The V-16 developed 300 lb-ft of torque at idle, peak torque of 320 lb-ft @ 1,400 rpm, and more than 300 lb-ft from 400 rpm to 2,000 rpm. One British magazine found that the car could be shifted into top gear at 2.5 MPH and accelerated smoothly to top speed—which, depending on the gearing and body fitted, ranged from 84 to 91 mph, with roadster bodies reportedly topping 100 mph.

By Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2019