There is a very interesting story behind the two Cadillac Fleetwood V-16s that you see pictured above and which will make their public appearance at the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in Carmel, California this week.
While both cars feature an original design from top to bottom, they were never actually built by Cadillac.
To explain, the 1934 rumbleseat roadster model 5802 and a 1937 Phaeton model 5859 were available as part of Cadillac’s made-to-order Fleetwood collection featured in the “build books” that customers used to select options for their cars, but due to the Great Depression, the two models went unselected.
Several decades later, famed restorer and coachbuilder Fran Roxas obtained the blueprints for the John Hampshire designed rumbleseat Roadster style 5802 and the five-passenger dual-cowl Phaeton style 5859, both of which were based on the V16 chassis.
With the help of California’s Art Center College of Design, Roxas was able to decipher Hampshire’s sketches and bring the two cars to life. Both models are motivated by the wreath and crest brand’s 16-cylinder engine.
The finely crafted Cadillacs were eventually auctioned off with the Phaeton 5859 changing hands for $962,500 (€780,000) and the Roadster 5802 for $1,001,000 (€811,500).
GM said that Cadillac’s designers recently used the original drawings as inspiration for last year’s Ciel Convertible concept, which will also be on display at the firm’s Pebble Beach exhibit that is open to the public from August 16 to 19.
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