American classic: revolutionary Cadillac Eldorado (33 photos + 1 video)

Although General Motors Corporation used the name Eldorado for twenty years now, only the generation that debuted in 1967 brought the model to the attention of the public. It was in production for only four years. along with the twins Oldsmobile Toronado and Buick Riviera.





Perhaps every automaker has a model in its arsenal, which at one time or another was somehow special. Maybe not of course everyone, but the Cadillac is exactly like that.

And we will talk about the famous Cadillac Eldorado. He came out in 1967.



So what was so revolutionary about it? First, beautiful style famous Bill Mitchell. This legendary designer is the author many General Motors icons, but Eldorado has always been considered the most beautiful and opened a new style direction for the brand, which lasted until mid nineties.





But what really set him apart was the drive to front axle. Yes, you read that right, American luxury coupe from the 60s with a V8, was actually offered with front-wheel drive.



Front-wheel drive, in fact, debuted a year earlier on the aforementioned Toronado and at one time was considered exotic and generally better balanced for everyday driving. This provided the driver better handling and traction in all weather conditions on lower speeds, as well as this configuration gave more space in salon. Eldorado will be the first Cadillac with hidden headlights and will call competition from Lincoln and Imperial, who will present competing models.



In just four years of production, Cadillac will offer three different engine. It all started with a 7-liter model, then in 1968 appeared unit 7.7 liters, and two years later Eldorado reached its peak with famous 8.2 liter petrol engine.



The example is from a 1969 story, which means that it is given in movement with a 375 hp medium engine. Acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h took less than eight seconds, and the maximum speed reached 200 km / h. It is worth noting that the gearbox was a three-speed automatic.



At the time, the Eldorado was the most expensive Cadillac in the lineup, starting at at $6,711, or about $54,495 in today's money. AT the car had all the equipment you would expect from a Cadillac. For example, leather seats, air conditioning, central locking, power windows, cruise control and more.