1960 Cadillac DeVille

The 1960 Cadillac lineup catered to the many levels of luxury buyers, from two-door hardtop coupes and four-door sedans to 9-passenger sedans and limousines, and even two convertibles options, one on the Series 6200 priced at $5,460 and the other the Eldorado Biarritz convertible listing for $7,400. Both convertibles rested on the same 130-inch wheelbase, shared by all other 1960 Cadillacs except for the 149.75-inch Series 75, and powered by a 390 cubic-inch, overhead-valve V8 engine. The differences were in the level of trim and standard accouterments, with the much higher priced Biarritz remaining the more exclusive of the two, with 1,285 examples built compared to 14,000 of the Series 6200. The hand-built Eldorado Brougham four-door sedan, constructed by the craftsman at Pinin Farina, tipped the scales at $13,075.

The flamboyant and some-would-say-excessive styling that defined the 1959 Cadillacs - the ultimate expression of Harley Earl's jet-age inspired design - with abundant chrome trim and towering tailfins became more refined for 1960, with smoother lines, lower tailfins, oval-shaped nacelles, devoid of front bumper guards, a full-width grille, and front fender mounted direction indicator lamps.

Cadillac's entry-level luxury model for 1960 was the Series 6200 offered as a convertible, hardtop coupe, and four-door sedan with prices that ranged from $4,890 to $5,460. They were very well equipped with power steering, power brakes, automatic transmission, dual-speed windshield wipers, outside rearview mirror, and wheel discs. The convertible body style added two-way power seats and power windows.

Above the Series 6200 was the Deville, considered a 'sub-series' of the Series 6200, and offered as a hardtop coupe and sedan, priced at $5,250 and $5,500 respectively. Resting on the same wheelbase, powered by the same engine, and equipped with many of the same options, the DeVille was distinguished by 'DeVille' nameplates on the rear fenders and the lack of a bar medallion on the front fenders. The additional accessories found on the Series 6200 convertible (power windows and two-way power seat) were standard on the DeVille. The interiors came standard with Chadwick cloth or optional Cambray cloth and leather combinations.

In regards to pricing, next in Cadillac's hierarchy was the Series Sixty Special Fleetwood, priced at $6,230, followed by the Eldorado Seville Hardtop Coupe and Eldorado Biarritz Convertible priced at $7,400. The long-wheelbase Fleetwood Seventy-Five was priced in the mid-to-high-$9,000s, and the Eldorado Brougham tipped the scale at over $13,000.

The engine powering many of the 1960 Cadillacs was a 390 cubic-inch V8 with 10.5:1 compression, a Carter two-barrel carburetor, five main bearings, hydraulic valve lifters, and delivering 325 horsepower at 4,800 RPM. The Eldorado, including the Brougham, replaced the Carter carburetors of the 390 CID V8 with a triple Rochester two-barrel setup resulting in 345 horsepower at 4,800 RPM. This engine option was available on all other Cadillacs for an additional $134.40. The air suspension (1960 was the final year for the air suspension system) of the Eldorado was also optional for an additional $215. Additional optional equipment included cruise control, air conditioning, Autronic Eye, electric door locks, E-Z-Eye glass, remote control trunk lock, radio with rear speaker, license plate frame, automatic heating system, fog lamps, and more.

Nearly half of Cadillac's 1960 production was from the 70,824 examples built of the Series 6200 for 1960. The 53,389 units built of the DeVille Series 6300 accounted for nearly thirty-eight percent of Cadillac's production. 9,225 were four-window sedans, 22,579 were six-window sedans, and 21,585 were the hardtop coupes.

The Cadillacs would receive all-new styling, new engineering, and re-shuffling of series designations for 1961 with the DeVille gaining a four-door town sedan body style. The DeVille was technically a part of the Series 62 line but retained the 6300 'sub-series' designation. The Eldorado Biarritz convertible became part of the DeVille sub-series, and the Eldorado Biarritz and Brougham were no longer offered. Not including the 1,450 Biarritz Convertible, Cadillac produced 55,174 examples of the Series 62 DeVille in 1961 which accounted for nearly 40 percent of Cadillac's overall production. Prices of the DeVille remained unchanged.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2021