1930 Cadillac Series 452A V16 Convertible Coupe Style 4335 by Fleetwood

Henry Leland was 47 years old when he moved his family to Detroit. He had enjoyed a prosperous career having invented mechanical hair clippers and more success was on the horizon for this precision machinery expert. Teaming up with Robert C. Falconer, the duo began producing precision gears and later moved into the production of steam engines for Detroit street cars and small gasoline engines.

Oldsmobile contracted the precision company in 1901 to build a single-cylinder internal combustion engine for their Curved Dash vehicle. The engine that Leland & Falconer created was 23 percent more powerful than existing Oldsmobile engines. It was rightfully dubbed the 'Little Hercules.' Sadly, the engine was rejected after a fire at the Oldsmobile factory delayed production and the retooling further delayed the release of the car.

Leland played a part in forming the company named after the French explorer who founded Detroit in the eighteenth century - Le Sieur Antoine de la Moth Cadillac - the Cadillac Automobile Company. Three decades later, the world was introduced to the sixteen-cylinder Cadillac. It was the first true 16-cylinder engine built from scratch. It was designed by Owen Nacker and given a 45-degree cylinder bank angle and overhead valve design allowing for a very narrow design. The external manifold provided good access to the engine compartment. It went a step beyond just a mechanical tour-de-force, it was a thing of beauty and style. All of the wiring was hidden and there was plenty of gleaming polished aluminum, and a pair of valve covers with brushed aluminum ridged surfaces with the Cadillac emblem.

The least expensive of the V16 Cadillac body styles was the Roadster style 4302 which sold for $5,350. The other end of the scale was the convertible coupe style 4235 which sold for $6,900. This example is a Fleetwood Convertible Coupe with style 4335 and sold new for $5,900. It is a unique design with a 'V' swing-out windshield with a seven-degree rake. There are suicide doors hinged at the rear and a 'LeBaron'-style curved hood.

Only 100 examples of the style 4335 were known to be produced. Only 12 are known to exist and even fewer are matching number cars, such as this example. It wears body number 47, is painted in two-tone red, and rides on 19-inch wire wheels. There are eight-inch lower Pilot-Ray driving lights that turn with the front wheels, chrome fender lights, and dual side-mounted 19-inch wire wheels.

In 2008 this 1930 Cadillac V16 Convertible Coupe was brought to RM Auctions 'Vintage Motor Cars of Meadow Brook' where it was estimated to sell for $280,000-$350,000. As bidding came to a close, the lot had been sold for $324,500 including the buyer's premium.

The car returned just one year later to the same auction and again was put onto the block. The car was estimated to sell for $250,000 - $350,000. As bidding came to a close, the lot failed to sell after achieving a high bid of $210,000.

By Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2009