1935 Cadillac Model 452-D Series 60

Competition and necessity were the architects of the 1930s, with Duesenberg and Cadillac responsible for the former and the latter was a result of the Great Depression. While the Duesenberg had flaunted its race-bred power with the arrival of the Model J, the Cadillac V16 was renowned for its smooth and silent operation. It set new standards for automobile design, and its arrival quickened the demise of most automobile manufacturers who tried to compete on its level. Manufacturers scrambled to field a worthy adversary to Cadillac's new Paragon while General Motors was preparing another fatal blow - the Cadillac V12. With V8, V12, and 16 power, Cadillac encompassed the entire price spectrum of the exclusive luxury car segment.

At the heart of the Cadillac Model 452 was its sixteen-cylinder engine that produced up to 185 horsepower. It had a 452 cubic-inch displacement, a narrow 45-degree v angle, overhead valves, and hydraulic valve lifters, and was designed by Owen Nacker for the 1930 season. The work had begun in 1926, and its development proceeded in great secrecy over the next few years.

Many automobile manufacturers who catered to the wealthy relied on outside firms to create sensational coachwork for their rolling chassis. General Motors preferred to keep the business in-house and to closely monitor quality throughout the entire production process. To that end, they had acquired the coachbuilders Fleetwood Metal Body and Fisher Body to create coachwork to designs by Cadillac chief Larry Fisher and GM's stylist Harley Earl. The Fleetwood catalog for the 1930 V-16 model included ten basic body styles, with approximately thirty additional designer drawings, and it is estimated that around 70 different job/style numbers were built by Fleetwood and Fisher on the Sixteen chassis.

The Wall Street Crash, also known as the Great Crash, arrived in the autumn of 1929, collapsing share prices on the New York Stock Exchange, resulting in the largest sell-off of shares in U.S. history. It happened on October 24th, 1929, and is known as Black Thursday, followed by Black Tuesday on October 29, 1929, when investors traded approximately 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a single day. This led to a severe worldwide economic depression known as the Great Depression.

Cadillac announced its costliest model yet, the new V-16 Series 452, after the Wall Street Crash. It was introduced to the world at the New York City's automobile show on January 4th of 1930, and despite the poor timing and high retail price, production continued to increase. Cadillac built a couple of cars per day in early January but quickly ramped up to twenty-two, and by April, they had built 1,000 units. By June, that number had doubled. This output was not sustainable, especially considering the market conditions, evident by the 54 total cars built in October. Production continued to decline as demand dwindled, with just seven examples built in August 1931 and six in November 1931. Production would remain low throughout the production lifespan, with just 50 examples being built both in 1935 and in 1937. 1940 witnessed a slight increase with a total of 51 units.

Cadillac later estimated that money was lost on every single example sold, but its true value was in its perch atop the luxury car segment. In 1933, the body was redesigned as the model 452C and incorporated Fisher's no draft individually controlled ventilation (I.C.V. or vent windows). Another redesign arrived a year later with the 452D, and the 452E in 1935. By this point, the V-16 now featured the Fisher Turret Top all-steel roof, though the cars were still built by Fleetwood.

Cadillac produced 150 V-16 models for the combined 1934 and 1935 model years, followed by 52 examples for 1936. The 1936 model was redesignated as the Series 90 (the V-12 became the Series 80 and 85), and 1937 examples received hydraulic brakes.

From 1938 through 1940, the 'Series 90' was powered by a new L-head V-16 with a 431 cubic-inch displacement, an in-block valve design, twin carburetors, twin fuel and water pumps, twin distributors, nine main bearing crankshaft, and a wider 135-degree V-angle. It produced the same 185 horsepower as the original V-16, but it was now nearly silent at idle and exceptionally smooth in operation. Production continued through December 1939, with a total of 4,076 examples produced during its 11-year run.

by Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2021