Star of the show: immaculate Cadillac at Goodwood

A stand out Americana star at Goodwood

Tom Evans

14 July 2018

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The Goodwood Festival of Speed 2018 is in full swing.

Thousands of people travelled to the grounds of the Goodwood estate in southern England to enjoy a long weekend of fuel-powered fun, in the sun. And although the centrepiece of the event is the hillclimb, where cars of all shapes and sizes compete in timed runs in front of gransdstands, there’s lots of amazing cars on static display.

And they include this glorious 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible, a star of the Concours competition hosted by luxury goods firm Cartier. Time for a closer look:
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Upswing

This car from 1959 epitomises an optimistic period in America. The country had recovered quickly from the Second World War, and car ownership in the country was booming. This example is from the third generation of Cadillac Eldorado. The model was first introduced in 1953, and ran through ten generations in total until finally retired in 2002.
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Fins

The 1957 re-design was masterminded by GM’s famed design chief Harley Earl (1893-1969), and this model was designed by Chuck Jordan (1927-2010). He introduced epic shark fins to the Eldorado mix, and didn’t do it by halves: they are the tallest of any American car. The fins reflected American fascination with the jet and rocket age in the period, and were widely used by Detroit’s carmakers. The fins are tipped with twin bullet tail lights.
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Size

The car is huge – 5715mm (225in), leading to a total weight of 2400kg (5300lb). So it’s perhaps fortunate the car has a mighty lump to haul it around: a 6.4-litre V8, delivering 345bhp.
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Loaded

The car features equipment and technology that are common today, but were groundbreaking in period. They include power for the seats, windows, aerial, roof and locks, and air conditioning. It even had the recent innovation of two-speed wipers.
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High, point

This model represented the high-water mark of GM’s shark-fin era. While still present, the fins were dialled right back for the fourth generation of the model, which arrived in 1961.
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Star

The Biarritz stood out among all the mostly European models on display at the Concours – and not just because of its size. The car is owned by British classic Cadillac dealer and enthusiast Milton Homan. Marvellous. Scroll through the rest of the photos of this amazing car:
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