1948 Cadillac Saoutchik Series 62 Three-Position Cabriolet

French coachbuilder Jacques Saoutchik and his son Pierre built two dramatic show cars based on the Cadillac Series 62 chassis in 1948. Cadillac's newly restyled Series 62 line for 1948 provided the ideal platform for a true coachbuilt show car, however, the car's popularity meant that procuring a bare chassis was a difficult task. Nonetheless, connected insiders were accommodated by the factory. Tommy Lee's Don Lee Cadillac in Hollywood, CA, arranged with Roger Barlow of International Motors in Hollywood for chassis 486237307 to be sent to Saoutchik in France for Louis Ritter.

This example, chassis 486234577, was given a Three-Position Cabriolet body by Saoutchik, with painted cane work accents, and skirted fenders. It is believed that this was the 1949 Paris Salon car. Some documentation suggested that the car had been commissioned by New York furrier Louis Ritter with the assistance of Hollywood dealer Roger Barlow. Other accounts suggest that the car was owned by Hollywood actress Dolores del Rio. It is currently believed that neither of these was true or has been conclusively confirmed. Very little history of its early years has been discovered.

This Three-Position Cabriolet arrived in California in 1950. By at least the mid-1980s it was in the collection of Rick Carroll, soon after his passing in 1990, Don Williams of Danville, California purchased the car from Mr. Carroll's estate. It was sold to Noel Thompson in 1992 who had Mike Fennell of Southern California perform a restoration. After the work was completed, it earned AACA National Prize honors in 1993 and 1994.

The current caretaker acquired the car in 2002. It was given a re-freshening before being exhibited at the Pebble Beach RetroAuto in August of 2009 and the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 2012.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2016