Just wondering if there was such a creature. There is one for sale in my town suposed to be 1 of 13 made.
Whenever you hear of a car that is one of thirteen made, the first thing you do is put your hand on your wallet. I dont know about the 61, but about 35 years ago, in the parking garage I used in downtown Indy, there was a (even then) re-sale red 1957 Biarritz convertible with the fins knocked off. Looked horrible! All that someone had done was rework the rear and weld in where the fins had been. Most likely, that is what was done with your local car. Cadillac simply doesnt have the time to do these one of umteen made cars. They were trying to sell fins then, not take them off. They would also do ONE of one made, maybe, as an executive styling exercise, but not a small group. And besides, our Yann would have heard about them before this. (Cadillac Data Base.)
Ive seen a 1960 coupe here in Australia which had been de-finned in the 60s, but then it was later re-finned . It was told to me that some cars were de-finned so they wouldnt be out of fashion in the mid 60s.
Ivan
During those years, there were some who wanted a Cadillac strongly, but were fanatically opposed to tail fins. They wanted to show the world how good a Cadillac would be if it didnt have those trendy tail fins. They had the money to have it done, and they done did it. They proved a point in the eyes of many: the cars looked like Hell without the fins!
Ive read about and seen a few de-finned Cadillacs in my time (50 years admiring the cars of Americas premier marque). IMHO, NONE was ever made or modified this way by Cadillac itself.
Youll find some of these weird-looking autos in the dream Cars section of the Clubs Cadillac Database (mostly 1959, but a few earlier and later years too).
there was such a car, rare but here is a pic and a link. it is quoted: "1961 CADILLAC BROUGHAM by PININFARINA 'JACQUELINE', THIS FABULOUS ONE-OFF CAR WAS BUILT BY THE LEGENDARY ITALIAN COACHBUILDER, PININFARINA FOR THE 1961 PARIS AUTO SHOW AS AN HOMAGE TO THE GRACE & STYLE OF THEN FIRST LADY, JACQUELINE BOUVIER KENNEDY "
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1961-cadillac-jacqueline-brougham-coupe.htm
Body/coachwork builders like Derham customized Cadillacs and other luxury cars. Based on customer desires or their own artistic creations, in the 50s and 60s they would remove the fins. You always kept thinking that it was incomplete or missing something. To me, they looked like Chryslers or Plymouths from the back (meaning "plain"). Not everybody's "cup of tea" but certainly interesting customization of those Cadillacs.
Quote from: theotherman222 on April 24, 2009, 12:58:08 AM
"1961 CADILLAC BROUGHAM by PININFARINA 'JACQUELINE', THIS FABULOUS ONE-OFF CAR WAS BUILT BY THE LEGENDARY ITALIAN COACHBUILDER, PININFARINA FOR THE 1961 PARIS AUTO SHOW AS AN HOMAGE TO THE GRACE & STYLE OF THEN FIRST LADY, JACQUELINE BOUVIER KENNEDY "
This car is for sale here in Los Angeles (and has been for quite some time). It was recently reduced to $385K, better hurry! Peruse the CLC photo gallery, there is a finless '59 in there as well, I believe a CLC member now owns it and is replacing the fins.
http://www.heritageclassics.com/cadillac/jacqueline/Page.html
My apologies for hi-jacking the subject, but here is another "commission-built" car based on a Cadillac, maybe Yann will see it and know the history. The car is at the Petersen Museum, I seem to recall it being built as a gift for Princess Grace based on an Eldorado? My recollection is as bad as the photo I took of the car.
To Chris' post -
I was just in Las Vegas and visited the Imperial Palace Collection - they had a black one like this. It might even be on their website. Either Ghia or Pininfarina as I recall
Carl Schreiber
Both are attributed to Ghia. We don't have a PRECISE history or time line for either. You can read my take on these two custom Cadillacs in the "Dream Cars" section of the Cadillac Database (1953). Both appear to have been modified away from the original Ghia design during their respective restoration. Someone certainly knows the true facts but will never own up. It's the same with the 1953 Cadillac with the 3-seater roadster body by Pinin Farina [same Database page]. Caveat emptor!