When a Rolls cost $10,000, the Eldorado Brougham went for $13,000. Still, GM lost money on every one it sold.
In the early 1950s Ford began planning its answer to the Rolls Royce, the Continental Mark II. Introduced in 1956, it was the last word in luxury. But General Motors was the greatest automobile manufacturer the world had ever known. It could not let this challenge go unheeded.
GM's answer was the 1957-58 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham, a "dream car" straight out of the company's fabulous Motorama car shows that you could buy-if you had the budget. At $13,000 plus change, it was more than double the price of a regular Caddy and cost an entiire Chevy more than a Rolls or a Continental Mark II. Still, GM lost money on their flagship. Cost escalates when you add a stainless-steel roof, brand new air suspension, magnetic cups for sipping on the go, special perfume atomizer filled with an exotic blend from Paris, handbuilt bodywork, custom brocade upholstery on swivel seats, mouton carpeting, and special tires made exclusively for the car.
Photos don't do this car justice--they make it look like a typical Caddy of its period. But it isn't. See an Eldorado Brougham in the metal and you'll be amazed at how low and sleek it is. Sitting 2.5 inches lower than a Cadillac of its day, the car is nothing short of breathtaking--the epitome of space-age glamour. A case can be made that the '57-'58 Eldorado Brougham was legendary GM design chief Harley Earl's ulitmate production car.
While Ford's Continental Mark Ii was designed with elegant restraint, GM's Eldorado Brougham pulled out all the stops in pursuit of futuristic space-age style. Soaring tailfins, jet air intakes, and nose cone bumpers put this car solidly in the mid-1950s. And that's not a bad thing. America was at its peak. It made perfect sense to drive a rocket ship into a tomorrow that could only get better. But the Eldorado Brougham was no mere style queen, it was first with air suspension, low-profile tires with thin white sidewalls, stainless steel body work, and quad headlights.
For the 1957 model year, 400 Eldorado Broughams were sold. Another 304 hit the road in 1958. GM continued the model with more conservative styling for 1959 and 1960. Production was farmed out to Pinin Farina in Italy and 99 were handbuilt in '59 with another 101 in 1960. GM stylists led by Chuck Jordan used the latter Broughams to introduce styling ideas later adopted on mass produced Cadillacs.
Though their prices languished for decades due to the car's obscurity, today expensive-to-restore Eldorado Broughams are an escalating collectible with prime examples fetching six figures. Their scarcity and unique parts make these cars difficult and pricey projects.
For more info see the slide show below and:
GM's Motorama cars: A future that never arrived
GM's Harley Earl: Greatest car designer ever?
Lincoln Continental Mark II: America's rockin' Rolls
Classic fins: Cars of the 1950s and 60s
Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack drove rare classics
Comments