1992 Cadillac Allanté

The front-drive Allante was introduced for the 1987 model and arrived with plenty of fanfare, serving as Cadillac's most expensive model. It was the company's first two-seat model and its body and interior were hand-built by Pininfarina in Italy; the V8 engine and automatic drivetrain were strictly American. Its range-topping price was partly due to its complexity, with the bodies produced at a facility near Turin, Italy and then loaded onto special 747 jet planes and flow to Detroit. Once there, driveline and underbody components were installed. They then underwent a rigorous quality control process before being shipped to the dealers in enclosed transports driven by certified drivers.

The Cadillac Allante was a full convertible, with an integral folding soft top and detachable aluminum hardtop. The trunk lid and hood were formed from lightweight aluminum while the unit body/frame structure was comprised of galvanized steel. The fully-independent suspension was shared with the Eldorado, but the Allante's wheelbase was 8.4 inches shorter. An all-disc power brake system with Bosch III anti-locking was standard.

There were few changes for the 1992 Cadillac Allante, though the all-new 1993 Convertible was introduced early in the spring of 1992. Available body styles continued to be the convertible and convertible hardtop, and power was from the 4.5-liter V8 mated to the F-7 four-speed automatic transaxle. Options included a Digital Instrument Cluster and Pearl White Paint. Among the list of standard features included traction control with rubber isolated plungers, variable-assist rack-and-pinion steering system, air conditioning, cruise control, power windows, power locks, and power leather seats.

The 90-degree, overhead valve V8 engine had an aluminum block and cast-iron cylinder liners, cast iron cylinder heads, 9.0:1 compression, roller hydraulic valve lifters, Tuned port fuel injection, and produced 200 horsepower at 4,400 RPM, and 270 lb-ft of torque at 3,200 RPM. The previous year, the cylinder heads were given straighter intake ports and larger exhaust valves that evacuated through thin-wall, cast iron manifolds that were designed for minimum flow resistance. A new generator-type oil pump was added to aid in oil aeration reduction.

Just 1,931 examples of the Allante were produced in 1992, the lowest production year for the Allante. The reason for the low numbers was that it was an abbreviated model year as the 1993 model was launched in the spring of 1992.

The Convertible Hardtop had a base price of $62,800 while the Convertible had an MSRP of $57,200.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2019