Comedian Tim Allen’s Modified Cadillac Puts The Devil In DeVille

Aside from being the voice of Toy Story’s Buzz Lightyear, comedian Tim Allen is probably best known as Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor from ABC’s 1990s sitcom, Home Improvement. But renowned car guy Allen also made some major car improvements to this 2000 Cadillac DeVille just as that show was ending.

The 2000-05 DeVille, or any DeVille for that matter, doesn’t exactly rank near the top of anybody’s list of sports sedan greats, though it was available with some pretty cool driver-focused tech, including a head-up display and MagneRide adaptive dampers. It never looked like a credible AMG, BMW M or Audi RS rival, and with only 275 hp (279 PS) in base tune from its 4.6-liter V8, or 300 hp (304 PS) in DTS-spec, and front-wheel drive, it didn’t go like one either.

But Allen’s car, which is up for sale on the Cars & Bids auction site with no reserve proves that Caddy coulda taken the fight to the Germans if it had made a few choice changes to the engine, suspension and braking system.

Allen reportedly commissioned Michigan-based Wheel to Wheel to upgrade the car, adding 18-in Konig rims, a chunky front anti-roll bar, lower springs, polyurethane bushes, a strut brace and four-piston Brembo calipers that bite into drilled and vented rotors.

The DOHC aluminium Northstar V8 engine also came in for some attention, gaining ported and polished cylinder heads, high compression pistons, a new intake system, stainless steel header and a Corsa Performance exhaust system in the process. There’s no documentation to prove exactly how much these changes improved on the stock DeVille DTS’s 300 hp (304 PS) and 295 lb-ft (400 Nm) of torque, but the listing suggests 398 hp (403 PS).

Inside, it’s mostly stock DeVille, which means acres of black leather, some really dated red-orange wood, and dashboard buttons that look like they’re designed for the visually impaired. So it’s particularly fortuitous that this Caddy also comes with night vision, which is only fitted to a few cars even today, and must have seemed incredibly trick back in 2000.

Sadly, like most TV and movie sets, this DeVille isn’t quite perfect when you get up close, despite having covered only 13,000 miles. There are gaps in the service history, only one key, ancient tires, some chips and scuffs on the wheels and the special TAD (Tim Allen Design) badge on the trunk is looking a little worse for wear. Still, with a bit of love, this fascinating insight into what might have been could be back in action and looking as good as new.

Do you think Cadillac should have created something like this to take on AMG and BMW, and would it have stood a chance? Leave a comment and let us know.