Of all the inter-continental automotive
collaborations we’ve seen over the years, few have captured our attention and
imaginations quite like Italian coachbuilt American motors. Forget for a moment all the vehicles
Fiat Chrysler has made since its modern amalgamation under the late Sergio
Marchionne. We’re referring to Ford-powered DeTomasos, Ghia-bodied Chryslers,
and (perhaps to a lesser extent) Ford’s Vignales and Pininfarina’s Cadillac
Allanté – or the thoroughly Italian-American 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham.
Exquisitely crafted by Pininfarina, the Eldorado
Brougham was the automotive equivalent of Frank Sinatra in a Brioni suit,
Borsalino fedora, and Gucci loafers. It was as long and sleek as they came. Just look at those distinctly
American tailfins, the rakishly swept-back windshield (one of the largest ever
put on an automobile), and a trunk big enough to fit a dead snitch or two.
Only 99 examples were made, of which the one you see
here is coming up for auction. It’s in entirely original condition, never
restored or taken apart – right down to the giant 6.4-liter V8 and the cloth
upholstery pinstriped like a mobster’s jacket.
It has been repainted to its original Ebony Black, using the same single-stage lacquer as original. And though the
original compressor is still on board, the rear air suspension has been
replaced with a more conventional coil-spring setup.
It was one of the most expensive cars money could
buy in its time, and with just over 50,000 miles on the odometer, RM Sotheby’s
expects it will sell for a good US$ 75,000 – US$ 100,000 when the gavel drops (with
no reserve price) in Auburn, Indiana, in late August/early September.
That’d be enough to put you in a nicely equipped
Escalade these days, but that’d be more Tony Soprano, where this Brougham is
more Michael Corleone. You tell us which fictional mob boss had the better
style.
