1959 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham

The 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham was a hand-built luxury sedan priced at nearly twice the cost of 1959 Cadillacs with coachwork by the Italian coachbuilder Pinin Farina (later, 'Pininfarina'). This was not the first project between General Motors and Pinin Farina; rather, their relationship dates back to the early 1930s when Pininfarina clothed a V16 Cadillac Roadster for the Maharaja of Orchha. In the immediate post-war era, Pinin Farina clothed a few cars for GM, including the hand-built Eldorado Brougham.

Pinin Farina was very busy during the 1950s helping Ferrari build their first series production vehicle, the 250 GT. They built most of the Ferrari 250 Europa vehicles powered by the Lampredi-designed V12 engine, but with the 250 Europa GT - equipped with a Colombo-designed V12 engine - they were not able to keep pace with the demand. Carrozzeria Boano was tasked with building the coachwork while Pinin Farina moved its operation from Corso Trapani in Turin to larger facilities on the outskirts of Turin. Over the years, Pinin Farina's business continued to grow, and the first vehicle they produced in large numbers was the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider of the late 1950s.

The Cadillac Series 70 Eldorado Brougham was announced in December of 1956 and released around March of 1957. Its design was derived from the Park Avenue and Orleans show cars of 1953 and 1954 and fined-tuned by designer Ed Glowacke. It wore several unique design cues including its trim, rear-hinged 'suicide' doors, and quad headlights. This arrangement of headlights was the first of its kind in the United States and they were also illegal. Since the doors latched onto a stub pillar that did not extend beyond the beltine, the Cadillac Brougham was a true pillarless hardtop.

Cadillac produced 400 examples of the Brougham in 1957 and 304 in 1958, the final year of domestic production at Cadillac's Detroit factory. For 1959, body construction was handled by Pininfarina. The bare chassis were shipped to Turin where they received their four-door hardtop coachwork, then returned to Detroit for final assembly.

The styling of the Brougham was elegant and more restrained than previous Cadillac designs, with a vertical crest medallion with a Brougham plate placed on the front fenders. Brightwork was also restrained, with a thin molding traversing the bodyside. The list of standard amenities was extensive and included an Autronic Eye, E-Z-Eye glass, Cruise Control, air conditioning, automatic trunk opener, electric door locks, a dual heating system, a high-pressure cooling system, polarized sun visors, an electric antenna, and an automatic-release parking brake. The two-position 'memory' power seats were the first application of this technology. There was an automatic starter with a restart function, a drum-type electric clock, power windows, six silver magnetic glovebox drink tumblers, and an Evans leather-trimmed cigarette case. The vanity kit contained a beveled mirror, coin holder, matching leather notebook, gold mechanical pencil, atomizer filled with Arpège Extrait De Lanvin perfume, a lipstick holder, ladies' powder puff with powder, and a comb.

The Brougham was no doubt extensively fitted with nearly every available item imaginable. The options list was few, but buyers were able to customize their vehicle with a choice of 44 full-leather interiors and trim combinations, along with Mouton, Karakul, or lambskin carpeting.

The engine powering the Brougham was the same fitted to other 1959 Cadillacs - a 390 cubic-inch V8 with overhead valves, a cast iron block, 10.5:1 compression ratio, triple Rochester two-barrel carburetor, five main bearings, and hydraulic valve lifters. It developed 345 horsepower at 4,800 RPM and was backed by a three-speed automatic transmission.

The suspension was an air-controlled system which ultimately proved rather troublesome, prompting some owners to replace it with a conventional coil spring setup.

1960 was the final year of the ultra-exclusive Brougham. They continued to wear the low lines and sculpted tailfins that defined the Cadillac line, along with one of the largest windshields ever used on an automobile. 101 examples were sold in 1960 with a base price of $13,075.

by Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2021