1987 Cadillac Allante

The luxurious two-door Cadillac Allanté convertible had its bodies built at Pininfarina's factory in Turin, Italy, and then shipped to General Motors' Hamtramck assembly plant in Detroit, where the drive train and running gear were installed. Fifty-six bodies at a time fit aboard a specially modified Boeing 747 as it made the trip across the Atlantic.

The styling was elegant and sporty, with a wedge-shaped design theme and a commendably low drag coefficient of only 0.34.

At the heart of the Allanté (in 1987 and 1988) was a tuned version of the 4.1-liter fuel-injected V8 engine as found in other Cadillacs, powering the front wheels. The independent suspension system was by MacPherson struts, and the Bosch anti-lock brakes could be found at all four corners. Standard amenities included a fully electronic instrument and control panel, a leather-trimmed interior, Recaro 'memory' seats, a removable aluminum hardtop and a Delco Remy/Bose Symphony sound system.

With a base price of $54,700, the Allanté was the most expensive model in the Cadillac range by a considerable margin. Production ended in July 1993 after 21,430 had been built.

In 1992, the Allanté was selected to pace the 76th Indianapolis 500, and the pace car was driven by Bobby Unser. Three modified Allanté vehicles were provided for the race, with a modified air intake system, a lighted roll bar, and seat belts. An additional 30 stock 1993 Allanté's were used as Festival/Pace Cars, and 58 stock 1992 Allanté Festival/Pace cars that were used by drivers and crews at the opening parade and the closing of the race.

The Pursuit of Perfection
Cadillac automobiles are renowned for style, luxury, and exclusivity, but as they looked to the future, they sought assistance from renowned European coachbuilders to help appeal to global and modern consumers. Fear of escalating fuel prices in the United States resulted in substantial downsizing of the Cadillac models (along with other GM vehicles). For example, the Eldorado shrunk by 16 inches in length in 1986 (compared to 1987), and sales plummeted by 72% percent. With the fear that the direction Cadillac was forging was too small for its traditional customers, yet still unable to attract buyers from the targeted competitors, including BMW, Jaguar, and Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac commissioned Pininfarina to help maintain its luxury market position.

Work began in the early 1980s as Cadillac explored a partnership with Europe's top designers. At the time, General Motors employed an army of approximately 3,000 designers, understandably causing resentment when the job was delegated to Pininfarina. To cope with production, Pininfarina opened a new dedicated vehicle assembly plant specifically for Allanté manufacture in San Giorgio Canavese (near Turin).

Crossing The Atlantic
Pininfarina manufactured the bodies in Italy and then shipped them to the United States for final assembly. The specially equipped Boeing 747s departed from Turin International Airport and landed at Detroit's Coleman A. Young International Airport. From there, the bodies were driven approximately three miles to Cadillac's new Hamtramck Assembly plant.

Mechancial Specification
The Cadillac Allanté used a shortened version of the E platform that underpinned the Cadillac Eldorado. Known as the V-body, it had a 99.4-inch wheelbase, was 73.5 inches wide, 52.2 inches tall, and had a length of 178.6 inches. The 4.1-liter HT-4100 V8 engine was transversely mounted at the front and powered by the front wheels. The transmission was a THM F7 four-speed automatic with overdrive, viscous converter clutch, and electronic shift control. The power-assisted rack and pinion steering had a 15.6:1 ratio, and disc brakes were at all four corners. The suspension was independent all round with MacPherson struts and coil springs at the front and MacPherson struts and a composite transverse leaf spring arrangement at the rear.

The 4.1-liter engine was replaced in 1989 with a 4.5-liter unit which boosted output to 200 bhp and torque to 270 lb-ft. In 1993, the 4.5-liter HT-4500 V8 was replaced by a 4.6-liter Northstar L37 V8 with 295 horsepower and 290 lb-ft of torque. The previous F-7 four-speed unit was replaced with a 4-speed 4T80-E automatic.

Two color options were available on the leather interior - burgundy or natural saddle. Recaro manufactured the seats and featured a 10-way memory seat system.

Each Allanté was driven for 25 miles to ensure proper fit and finish.

The 1987 Cadillac Allanté
The 1987 Cadillac Allanté was priced at $54,700, more than double most other Cadillac models. The second highest-priced Cadillac was the Fleetwood 75 formal limousine priced at $36,580. Due to its complicated, multi-country 'assembly line' and exorbitant price, a mere 3,366 examples were built in its inaugural year. 1993 saw the highest level of sales with 4,670 examples sold. 1992 was the lowest at 1,931.

Engine
The 90-degree overhead valve, 250 cubic-inch V8 engine had an aluminum block, cast iron cylinder liners, cast iron cylinder heads, a 3.46-inch bore and a 3.31-inch stroke. It had five main bearings, roller hydraulic valve lifters, an 8.5:1 compression ratio, and sequential multi-port fuel injection, and it produced 170 horsepower at 4,300 RPM and 235 lb-ft of torque at 3,200 RPM.

1988 and Beyond
The base price rose to $56,544 in 1988 and to $57,183 in 1989. Replacing the standard digital dash cluster with analog instruments was a no-cost option in 1988, and revised front seat headrests were installed. A new 273 CID V8 engine arrived in 1989, along with a new speed-sensitive damper system called Speed Dependent Damping Control, and GM's Pass Key (Personal Automotive Security System).

In 1990, the Allanté received traction control making it the first front-wheel drive automobile with a V8 engine to be equipped as such. A lower-priced Allanté version was offered with a base price of $53,050. It had a cloth convertible roof and was devoid of the removable aluminum hardtop. With the hardtop, the base price was $59,638. The previous telescoping steering wheel was replaced by a leather-wrapped steering wheel with an airbag. The power mirror control was relocated to the upper end of the driver's door armrest, and the power seat switches were now on the ower side trim of the seat base facing the door panels.

All but 275 examples of the 1991 Allanté were equipped with a digital instrument cluster which was now a $495 option for the convertible body style. The Bose stereo system now had 200 watts, the power-latching mechanism for the convertible top was new, and the top stowage cover mechanism was redesigned. Prices began at $57,260 but were lowered to $55,900 mid-year for the convertible and the convertible with hardtop began at $62,810, lowered to $61,450 midyear.

The 1992 Allanté was priced at $58,470 for the convertible and $64,090 for the hardtop/convertible. 1,878 examples were equipped with the standard analog cluster. This was the final year for the multi-adjustable Recaro seating design. A new pearl white paint group, option YL3, was available on the convertible for $700, and 443 buyers selected this option. Interior leather colors included Charcoal, Natural Beige, Maroon, Polo Green, and Pearl Flax (only one example received this color).

The 1993 Allanté was available solely as a soft-top convertible priced at $59,975. The aluminum hardtop was optional, along with the LCD digital instrument cluster, pearl coat paint, and chrome squeeze-cast aluminum wheels. The Northstar DOHC V8 engine displaced 280.7 CID (4.6 liters) and brought horsepower to nearly 300. Lear-designed eight-way dual power seats replaced the previous Recaro seats.

by Daniel Vaughan | May 2023