1955 Cadillac Elegant Special Convertible Coupe

In the early 1950s, when the streamlined shapes of jet airplanes first became part of the public's consciousness, two friends decided to conceive & build a unique American sports car. Harry Birdsall, a commercial artist & Joe Mascari, a New York contractor, devised a futuristic luxury two-seater, based on a 1953 Cadillac chassis and running gear, and featuring a unique two-piece folding convertible hardtop. They hired now-legendary automobile designer Albrecht Goertz and named their creation the Elegante. Their goal was to target an upscale market of discerning customers.

The futuristic, airplane-inspired two-seat retractable hardtop used the remains of a 1953 Series 62 convertible that had caught fire at the White Plains Cadillac dealership. Albrecht Goertz, a friend who went on to design the BMW 507 and the Datsun 240Z weighed in on the project. Harry also had a close friendship with Zora Arkus-Duntov, the designer of the Corvette.

The chassis and drawings were shipped to Carrozzeria Motto in Turin, Italy. Rocco Motto took 30 months to fabricate the body, custom fabricate all the hardware, and mount it to the 126-inch wheelbase chassis. The quad headlight rights, windscreen frame, door handles, hood and trunk trim, and recessed license plate insert were all fabricated from bronze and then plated in 24-karat gold. Aluminum trim and hubcaps were gold anodized. The body was painted iridescent *** of pearl white with the interior completed in deep red wine Italian leather. The result inspired one young lady to publicly exclaim: 'Why it's so beautiful it's indecent!'

Harry Birdsall's son and current owner of the Elegante saw the car change hands several times after his father's passing in 1960. In 1997, **** and his brother Bob located the car, which had suffered damage from Hurricane Andrew. **** spent 16 years restoring the Elegante himself and won the People's Choice award at the 2014 Amelia Island Concours.