1956
Eldorado Biarritz, Seville and Brougham
Town Car
The rear end treatment of the Eldorado models was
again vastly different from the standard line, repeating the theme used in 1955.
As in 1955 the name Eldorado appeared in gold script in the
center of the trunk lip above a wide-angled gold V. The model names Biarritz
or Seville appeared also in gold script on the upper front fenders, just ahead of
the front door, below a gold-finished Cadillac crest.
The traditional, elongated Cadillac Goddess hood mascot was not
used on the Eldorado models. Instead, it was replaced with two small, decorative
fins mounted in the center of the hood, at the front. The ribbed, chrome door saddles used
in 1955 appeared again in 1956.
The Seville
This year, Cadillac started offering a closed Eldorado model,
the Seville hardtop coupe, in addition to the convertible, which got the
distinguishing name Biarritz.
The front grille was available in optional gold finish. The coupe model
differed from standard Cadillac coupe models by its vinyl roof covering.
The Seville coupe was Cadillac's production version of a
special mood car shown at last year's Motorama, called the Celebrity.
The latter car was described as a modified Coupe de Ville and had the distinctive
Vicodec roof covering. The press release issued at the 1955 Motorama had this to say about
it:
Completing the display of production 'show cars' will be the
'Celebrity', a dramatically styled Coupe de Ville combining a long-grain [red] leather
covered roof with a brilliant red lower body. Matching the exterior color treatment, the
interior trim design utilized Red Silver threaded V-Pattern cloth seat inserts and Red
leather bolsters trimmed with chrome buttons and Silver finish welts.
Two color views of this graceful, air-conditioned, one-of-a-kind car can
be admired in a Cadillac advertising catalog published in line with the 1955 Motorama
entitled A trip to the Motorama [on pp. 4-5 and p.10]. Like the later
production Eldorado Seville, the Motorama car had the Eldorado
sabre-spoke wheels.
The name Celebrity was used later (1982) for a Chevrolet model.
A new hard-top Eldorado Seville for
1956
[ Photo: © 1956, GM/Cadillac ]
1956 fashion advertisement featuring
the new Eldorado Seville
Artist's view of the new Seville from a
period advertisement
Note the optional "gold" alloy wheels
in the factory promotional photo (left)
Eldorado Seville interiors came either in
full leather or in a combination of Florentine pattern metallic nylon with
leather bolsters and trim; available shades of leather were black, blue,
green or red with white leather bolsters
and trim; Florentine pattern metallic nylons were available in shades of black,
blue, green and red with white
leather bolsters and trim. Vicodec roof coverings came in white, black, light blue, beige
and light green
This was a "pre-owned" car, back in the
60s; I wonder if it is still around today
[ Photo: Internet, 2014 ]
The "real thing" compared to the above
catalog illustration
This lovely survivor in blue resides (2013) in
Germany
(Left) Early factory photos and one prestige catalog
illustration show the Seville coupe
with only the Eldorado script; others show the car with the script Eldorado
Seville;
it is believed that all the production cars had the full Eldorado Seville
script.
The Biarritz
Two artist's views of the new Biarritz (the
one at the left is from a period advertisement)
The convertible Eldorado is now named Biarritz
[ Photo: © 1956, GM/Cadillac ]
Different setting - same car ... in
color
[ Photo: © 1956, GM/Cadillac ]
A 1956 Eldorado Biarritz being
unloaded (?) for a motor show or perhaps a dealer's showroom
[ the filigree ".com" domain name across the rear bumper unfortunately is
illegible ]
Standard on Eldorado models for 1956 were
the cast, polished aluminum sabre-spoke wheels (available
at extra cost on all other models); they were optionally available on the Eldorado
models in gold finish at no
extra cost with a matching gold-finished grille (above, right), These were available at
extra cost on the
other models in the range (although I've never seen a 1956 Fleetwood 75 with gold
grill and cast wheels!)
Would he be
the owner ... or the builder?
[ Photo: Internet, 2014 ]
A restored 1956 Eldorado Biarritz in
Australia; it is made to look like the Elvis Presley car. Color: grape!
[ Photos, above 3 rows: © 2012, Lou
Commisso, CLC, 1956 Eldorado Biarritz Roster ]
A fine survivor in red ... with no Conti
kit!
This illustration is from a period advertising
piece;
it features the car in the new (for 1956) Pacific Coral hue
Left: cast wheel in polished aluminum; right:
gold finish [center cap removed]
Eldorado Seville interiors came either in
full leather or in a combination of Florentine pattern metallic nylon with
leather bolsters and trim; available shades of leather were black, blue,
green or red with white leather bolsters
and trim; Florentine pattern metallic nylons were available in shades of black,
blue, green and red with white
Exclusive to the Eldorado models were a new
"winged" hood mascot (left)
and Eldorado script nameplate on the front fenders (center)
This mildly customized job was displayed at
the Buffalo auto Show in NY
Trivia:
- Located in a barn, a stone's throw from Geneva's Cointrin
airport, in Switzerland, in the late seventies, was a metallic blue, style 56-6267SSX Eldorado
Biarritz convertible [FW No. 1941, trim 12, paint 24, accessories PH]. This car wore
the red-lettered temporary French tags # 3136TT1Q and was reputed to have been once the
property of the late Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran.
- In my collection also is a photo of the prototype Eldorado
Biarritz convertible for 1956, taken in March 1955 [full RH side view, taken in front
of the Fisher Body plant].
The pre-production Brougham
The Brougham Town Car Motorama special
Although these were not production cars in 1956, I decided to include them
here because they were conducive to the bespoke Eldorado Brougham models of 1957-58.
Roster of 1956 Eldorado models now available:
CLC member, Lou Comisso, writes: I found a way to share the 1956
Eldorado roster I have been working on with the world. It's in the
beginning stages with just over 100 cars but there is enough there now
to share it. Hopefully more cars and details about existing cars will be
contributed from enthusiasts once the word is spread. So please feel
free to forward this link on to others in the hobby.
http://1956eldorado.blogspot.com/
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