What is this Cadillac and who built it.

[76eldo]

What is this Cadillac and who built it?

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Looks like it may have been built in England as the way the convertible part of the roof is stacked so high, it reminds me of English convertibles, as they can't get their tops to lower right down, out of the way.

Plus, the background looks very European.

Bruce.

[Bill Balkie 24172]

Hello ,
     I know nothing about the car but it looks very expensive . Looks like a car made for the Queen or a Prime Minister . Very interesting.

       Bill

[jdemerson]

What is this Cadillac and who built it?

1951 model year series 75 with obvious modifications ?

Appears to be dark blue. I'm reminded of the Fleetwood Limousine from the Vatican, subject of Jed Rapaport's excellent article in November/December SS. He noted that the car was repainted dark blue from the original black because dark blue is the color used at the Vatican for its vehicles.

Could this '51 model be a Vatican car?  I realize the connections made here are VERY tenuous! Idle speculation....

John Emerson
1952 Cadillac Sedan 6219X

[Big Apple Caddy]

1951 Cadillac Fleetwood Series Seventy-Five Landaulet parked outside Strasbourg Cathedral in France.

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Derham would be my guess.

[Cadman-iac]

I don't know who made it, but it's a safe bet that you wouldn't see another one in the parking lot beside it.
It's very formal looking to me, like someone else said, it looks like something the Queen would ride in.

Rick

[jdemerson]

1951 Cadillac Fleetwood Series Seventy-Five Landaulet parked outside Strasbourg Cathedral in France.

Thank you for the correction, and I've corrected the posting. I thought I saw the nipples on the rear bumper dagmars, but a blowup shows they are not. (Should have blown if up the first time...) Also the exhaust is not in the bumper ends. So a '51 for sure. 

It is an intriguing and unusual car! Would love to know more.

I'm reading an excellent book, Fleetwood. The Company & The Coachcraft by James J. Schild. It shows and describes in detail an enormous variety of Cadillac Fleetwoods from 20s, 30s, through 1941. Includes MANY V12s and V16s. But only a few postwar cars, and none of those shown are custom bodied. So, the book is a bit disappointing if one is looking for information on 1942s and later models. It does, however, discuss the 1993 closing of Clark Avenue Plant as well as the last 1993-96 generation.

John

[brian faull clc#25881]

I found a few more pictures on the internet. On IMCDB I also saw a comment that the AA licence plate would mean it was owned by the Royal Family, and someone also commented that it may have been made by a Dutch firm called Pennock, but I found no conclusive answer. It also stated footage of the car was used in a 1978 Documentary 50 Jaar DAF.

[Alan Harris CLC#1513]

Which royal family? It appears to be LHD.

[Brent Hladky #21519]

That would be the Dutch royal family.  AA plates in the Netherlands are exclusive to them.

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

Guys,
The BIG question is.....does it still exist??? And where??

[billmorrow]

left hand drive, '52 or '53 is my guess based on bumper guards and backup lights under the tail lights.. for sure some sort of head of state type parade car..

[Jeff Maltby 4194]

Very brief showing of the cadde 7:00 into it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUUx7hm88e0

[jdemerson]

As I was watching this fascinating old video, another YouTube video of Cadillac popped up beside my window. It was the video of the 2014 Lake George GN. It is a great 30-minute video. I must have viewed it 5 years ago, but had forgotten it. I wonder who made it?  Possibly Lynn Gardner?  Whoever assembled the video did a terrific job. And what a great venue Lake George was!

My '52 (before I owned it) is at 15:34 in the video. This was the first time I had ever seen my car, and I had not yet met the owner when these shots were take.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAyYNzWQfg0

I wonder how many videos like this one exist for the various GNs?  Any one would be a treasure.

John Emerson
1952 Cadillac sedan 6219X

[Bob Schuman]

The car that Brian asked about is very likely a Derham custom that started life as a 51-75 Series sedan or limousine. While in a "shelter in place" statewide order because of the coronavirus I have been re-reading my old Self Starter Annuals from 1973 through 1998. Vol XVIII copyright 1992 has a feature on a very similar car. That car looks identical to the one in question, except it has a solid padded formal roof instead of the folding roof section. The article, by the late Bud Juneau, states that car(the solid roof car) started as a 51-75 limousine, converted by Derham of Rosemont, PA into a padded top formal limousine. It was reportedly first owned by Hollywood fashion designer Edith Head, and in 1992, when the article appeared, was owned by Don and Giulie Pepper in California. It was originally dark green, later repainted the same color.
The reason I believe the car Brian questioned is because the the chrome molding above the side windows that drops down and curves to meet the belt molding looks identical on both cars. It seems unlikely that two different custom body builders would have used an identical molding such as that one.
If any of you are old enough to have those old Self Starter Annuals, look on pages 18-22 of Vol XVIII to see the car, Which is a beautiful dark green. It just happens to be the same color as my 51 coupe.

[76eldo]

Thank you Bob.

Brian

[Brad Ipsen CLC #737]

For newer members these annuals that Bob refers to were really excellent.  If you see them for sale it would be a wise buy.

[Jay Friedman]

As I was watching this fascinating old video, another YouTube video of Cadillac popped up beside my window. It was the video of the 2014 Lake George GN. It is a great 30-minute video. I must have viewed it 5 years ago, but had forgotten it. I wonder who made it?  Possibly Lynn Gardner?  Whoever assembled the video did a terrific job. And what a great venue Lake George was!

My '52 (before I owned it) is at 15:34 in the video. This was the first time I had ever seen my car, and I had not yet met the owner when these shots were take.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAyYNzWQfg0

I wonder how many videos like this one exist for the various GNs?  Any one would be a treasure.

John Emerson
1952 Cadillac sedan 6219X

I agree with John.  Lake George was a great place for a GN and the '14 was one of the greatest.  I had never seen this video before.  At 4:58 in the film I'm pleased to see is a shot of my own '49 followed by a close-up of the motor. 

[35-709]

Drop dead gorgeous red '35 sedan (35-709) at about 1:50 and again at 2:07.  That car drove from Vero Beach, FL to the Lake George GN (and back).   
Drove to the Boston and Washington GNs and back home to FLA also.

It ain't braggin' if it's true!