Cadillac’s New Convertible Will Share the Spotlight with Its Old Convertibles
Last week, Cadillac unveiled a new Sollei convertible concept that, if produced, would return the carmaker to the realm of giant convertibles, a space it once owned in style. Not since the final Eldorado convertible of 1976 has Cadillac offered a full-size open car, so the news of the Sollei is likely welcome to fans of the marque.
Based upon the Ultium EV platform that underpins the new $300K-plus Celestiq luxury sedan, the Sollei will offer 2+2 seating in a similarly luxurious package. Neither pricing nor production specifics have been confirmed, but Cadillac will display the new convertible in August at Pebble Beach. Quite coincidentally, it will be sharing the Monterey Peninsula with a couple of its esteemed predecessors.
Crossing the block at RM Sotheby’s that week is a 1930 Cadillac V-16 Sport Phaeton with Fleetwood coachwork. Just 85 Sport Phaetons were built in 1930–31, and today 17 survive. This car, in pretty Bottle Green, is well documented from new and has resided with some noteworthy collectors in its 94 years, including Otis Chandler. In the early 1950s, it changed hands for the princely sum of . . . $25!
The car was restored over a period of several years in the 1990s and appeared at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 1998 and again in 2009. It’s presale estimate of $800K–$1.1M at RM is juuust a bit more than $25.
Slightly newer is the 1956 Eldorado Biarritz convertible offered by Mecum, which is slated to sell on Saturday, August 17. With a dual-quad 365-cid V-8 making 305 hp, the Eldo is and always was an effortless cruiser. Finished in Alpine White over a red interior, the Mecum car is sure to attract plenty of attention. Rarer than its Seville stablemate, just 2150 were produced, though it’s difficult to pinpoint how many remain today. Wherever they are, however, they are prized by collectors as the pinnacle of 1950s Cadillac style and opulence.
Hagerty values the ’56 Eldorado Biarritz at $81,800 for a #3 (good) example and $188,000 for a #1 (concours) car. From Mecum’s photos, this one appears to fall somewhere in between, still well into triple-digit territory. And it’s well established that rationality often goes out the window in the saleroom at Monterey, so it wouldn’t surprise us to see this car soar beyond expectation.
It will be interesting to see the buzz around the Sollei while it’s on display in California, particularly whether the new convertible concept is capable of capturing the imagination of enthusiasts quite like a regal V-16 or sumptuous Biarritz does.
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How ironic that EVs got Cadillac back in the tuna boat business
Not my kind of car but this should have been their first Bespoke car.
This hits really close to home and heart. My dad owned a yellow, 1949 Series 62 convertible. My mom was not shy about mentioning that she was attracted to the car as much as the owner. Their wedding album has some great images of them leaving the church in the Caddy. I think they both would have loved cruising to the beach in a Sollei.
This beautiful car is already a failure…. Simply put a hybrid or ICE engine in it and sell many more of them…. The EV craze is almost dead because it just doesn’t work… and Mary Barra has finally figured that out.
Exactly.
Over the years, Cadillac has made some damn ugly convertibles (1980’s).
Very nice design….finally
The Celestique is not nearly as sexy. Cadillac is convinced they can’t sell a proper new drop top, when they have everything in house to do so at a prophet. Grow a pair.
Now if only this thing had the Cadillac Sixteen motor or a Blackwing V8. Not really a convertible guy but I’d rather have one of the classics.
Cadillac has rolled out a number of these type cars over the last 20 plus years. Too many to remember all the names but Cimarron, Alliante, to name a couple and they all have been flops. This one will be just the same as the previous attempts.
Let hope they at least get spell the name correctly…
Now that 1930 Cadillac V-16 Sport Phaeton is a real Duesy! A late friend of mine had a 1930 Cadillac V 16 sedan which he shipped to America in 1980 from his dealership in South Africa. Being as tight as a sharks ? he didn’t nominate a clearing agent in America as he said he would fly over and do the clearing himself. Bad idea as he had a heart attack which left the car on the wharf side collecting big demurrage charges. Eventually, when he had recovered he flew to America only to find that the customs and narcotics people had stripped it looking for drugs etc! The whole inside had to be re upholstered at great expense and several of the interior fittings and instruments had disappeared as the car was left unlocked to anybody that wanted to see inside. Not organising a clearing agent was a really bad way to try and save money!
I agree that Cadillac should have begun their foray into bespoke high end with this car instead of the Celestiq. It is a much better callback while charging (wink) into to the future than a station wagon.
electric cars? Wait while I puke, let’s all of us pray to Jesus that these pieces of shit become obsolete before they ever become useful.
Yes, like the laser disc player, they were the size of a 12 inch vinyl record that played digital quality movies and was quickly replaced by the DVD, which has also been replaced by streaming and downloads. Or plasma TVs, which were quickly replaced as well.
Except that LaserDiscs were possibly the best image quality available then, while DVDs were awful at their inception. They’re a “lossy” compression format. Watch certain live music on a DVD and you’ll see that a tilted microphone stand “staircases”. Only perfectly horizontal and vertical objects remain intact.
Yes, I’ve got a LaserDisc player, and a Sony SuperBeta Hi-Fi too!
– The Repository of Forgotten Formats
This car is dead before it is released. The same goes for the Celestiq.
Screens are cheap and make an interior look poverty stricken
Electric vehicles are now being shunned by all ranges of consumers. Governments thought they could shove a worse product that is inconvienent and harder to own and operate down consumers throats. Now as Edmunds reports adopters of these appliances are coming back to gas and their senses. It makes this car obsolete.
General Motors just keeps chasing the upper end of the market with the Escalade, Celestiq, ZR1 and Hummer. It will be their undoing. Production at a 3 shift factory like Fairfax, Spring Hill or Flint cannot be held by the upper class.
Goodbye Mary & Mark. We need new leadership.
hurry up/just want to pick a color for my new convertible