1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible

1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz

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Cadillac Eldorado

Cadillac Eldorado
Manufacturer Cadillac
Parent company General Motors
Production 1953 – 2002
Class Full-size personal luxury car

The Eldorado model was part of the Cadillac line from 1953 to 2002. The Cadillac Eldorado was the longest running American personal luxury car as it was the only one sold after the 1998 model year. Throughout it’s 50-year run, main competitors included the Lincoln Mark Series, Chrysler Imperial, and the lower-priced Buick Riviera and Oldsmobile Toronado.

Although cars bearing the name varied considerably in bodystyle and mechanical layout during this long period, the Eldorado models were always near the top of the Cadillac line.

The Name “Eldorado”

The name was proposed for a special show car built in 1952 to mark Cadillac’s Golden Anniversary; it was the result of an in-house competition won by Mary-Ann Zukosky, a secretary in the company’s merchandising department. Another source, Palm Springs Life magazine, attributes the name to a resort destination in California’s Coachella Valley that was a favorite of General Motors executives, the Eldorado Country Club. In any case, the name was adopted by the company for a new, limited-edition convertible that was added to the line in 1953.

The name Eldorado was derived from the Spanish words “el dorado”, “the gilded one” or “the golden one”; the name was given originally to the legendary chief or “cacique” of a South American Indian tribe. Legend has it that his followers would sprinkle his body with gold dust on ceremonial occasions and he would wash it off again by diving into a lake. The name more frequently refers to a legendary city of fabulous riches, somewhere in South America, that inspired many European expeditions, including one to the Orinoco by England’s Sir Walter Raleigh.

1959-1966 – Third generation

Assembly Detroit, Michigan, USA
Body style(s) 2-door coupe
2-door convertible
Layout FR layout
Engine(s) 390 ci 340 hp (250 kW) V8
Wheelbase 129.5 in (3,290 mm) (1963-68)
130 in (3,300 mm) (1959-62)
Length 225 in (5,700 mm) (1959-60)