The Michigan-based automaker is displaying two one-of-a-kind flagship convertibles that were available to order during the 1930s. The first is a 1934 rumbleseat roadster called model 5802 and the second is a 1937 Phaeton dubbed model 5859.
In 1984 coachbuilder Frans Roxas got his hands on the blueprints of both cars and took on the Herculean task of building them. Starting with a pair of 16-cylinder Cadillac chassis from the 1930s Roxas built each car from scratch to the exact specifications that Cadillac's build book called for. The end result was stunning and both cars went on to win best-in-class awards at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
"The Cadillac Phaeton 5859 and Roadster 5802 are literally unlike any other vehicle ever built," said Clay Dean, Cadillac's design director. "The Cadillac design team is still inspired by these two vehicles as we dream and conceive of future Cadillac entries."
Although the two cars failed to find buyers in the 1930s they both recently sold at an auction for roughly a million dollars each.
Live photography by Mark Elias.
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