1941 Cadillac Series 60 Special

During the mid-1930s, Cadillac offered over sixty different body styles and chassis combinations, but by the early 1940s, the coachbuilding era was declining and so were the number of combinations, down to less than 30. Very few coachbuilders had been able to weather the Great Depression.

The Cadillac V-16 was discontinued in 1939, leaving the Series 75 Fleetwood as the top-of-the-line Cadillac. For 1941, the Series 75 remained the most expensive Cadillac, yet it was not the largest. The wheelbase of the 75 had decreased from 141 inches to 136.5 inches, although its $2,995 to $4,045 price tag had remained the same. The Series 72 was replaced by a new model called the Series 67, priced from $2,595 to $2,890, and resting on a 139-inch wheelbase (2.5 inches longer than the Series 72).

Another change was the discontinuation of the LaSalle brand, which had been marketed by General Motors' Cadillac division from 1927 through 1940. They had been manufactured by Cadillac but were priced lower than Cadillac-branded automobiles. The Cadillac Series 61 was brought back in 1941, as a replacement for the LaSalle in the company's price structure lineup. Pricing ranged from $1,340 for the Series 61 Coupe and rose to $1,540 for the DeLuxe Touring Sedan. A new Series 63 was offered, available solely as a five-passenger touring sedan with a price of $1,700.

All 1941 Cadillacs were powered by the same engine, something that had not occurred since 1926. The engine was an L-head eight-cylinder unit displacing 346 cubic inches and delivering 150 brake horsepower. It had a three-speed selective synchromesh manual transmission with a gearshift located on the column. Hydraulic brakes were located on all four wheels. An automatic transmission was available for an additional $125.

Styling changes for 1941 included headlights that were fully integrated into the front fenders and a horizontal-theme grille. Another Cadillac 'first' was the front-opening hood, and the tank filler was hidden in the left rear tail light, a feature that would become a Cadillac hallmark.

The Series 60 Special had a 126-inch wheelbase which it shared with the Series 61, Series 62, and Series 63. It was the longest of the three with an overall length of 217 inches. Introduced in 1938, the Series 60 wore styling courtesy of a young GM designer named William L. 'Bill' Mitchell. The Series 60 Special Sedan foreshadowed many of the advanced styling concepts devised at Harley Earl's GM Styling department that would later be used through the other GM Divisions. Its body featured a convertible-style steel roof, notched rear treatment, elongated rear deck with an integral luggage compartment, and thin pillars for better visibility. The floors were lowered thanks to a unique 'double-dropped' frame and there were no running boards. Mild styling updates occurred in 1939, 1940, and 1941, in keeping with the rest of the Cadillac models.

1941 was the second year of Fleetwood's exclusive production of 60 Special bodies.

For 1941, Cadillac produced 4,100 examples of the limited-production Series 60 Special.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2019