Cadillac V-16
Encyclopedia
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The Cadillac V-16 (sometimes known as the Cadillac Sixteen) was Cadillac's top-of-the-line car from its January 1930 launch until production ceased in 1940 as the war in Europe
killed sales. All were finished to custom order, and the car was built in very small numbers; only 4076 cars were constructed in the eleven years the model was offered. The majority of these were built in the single year of 1930, before the Great Depression
really took hold. This was the first V16
powered car to reach production status in the United States.
toured Europe in search of inspiration from Europe's finest coachbuilder
s. Unlike many builders of luxury cars, who sold bare chassis to be clothed by outside coachbuilding firms, General Motors had purchased the coachbuilders Fleetwood Metal Body
and Fisher Body
to keep all the business in-house. Bare Cadillac chassis could be purchased if a buyer insisted, but the intention was that few would do so.
It was not until after the stock market crash of 1929 that Cadillac announced to the world the availability of the costliest Cadillac yet, the new V-16. The new vehicle was first displayed at New York
's automobile show on January 4, 1930.
Beginning in June 1930, six new V-16s participated in a promotional tour of major European cities including Paris, Antwerp, Brussels, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Berlin, Cologne, Dresden, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Münich, Nüremberg, Vienna (where they won prizes), Berne, Geneva, Lausanne, Zürich, Madrid, San Sebastian, La Baule and Angers. On the return journey from Spain, the V16 caravan stopped also in the town of Cadillac, in south-western France, although that city bears no relationship to the marque, other than its name.
After the peak in V-16 orders in mid 1930, production fell precipitously. During October 1930, only 54 cars were built. The lowest figures for the 452/452A cars of 1930-31 were August 1931 (7 units) and November 1931 (6 units). Minimum production continued throughout the rest of the decade with a mere 50 units being built both in 1935 and in 1937. 1940 was only marginally better with a total of 51 units. Not surprisingly, Cadillac later estimated that they lost money on every single V-16 they sold.
Production of the original V-16 continued under various model names through 1937. The body was redesigned in 1933 as the model 452-C. Innovations included Fisher no draft individually controlled ventilation (I.C.V. or vent windows).
For 1934, the body was redesigned again and denoted 452-D. The V-16 now featured the Fisher Body
"turret-top" all-steel roof, though the cars were still built by Fleetwood
. This same basic design would remain virtually unchanged through 1937. With a wheelbase of 154 inches (3,912 mm) and a curb weight of up to 6600 pounds (2,993.7 kg) these are perhaps the largest standard production cars ever produced in the United States. Combined production for the 1934 and 1935 model years was 150. It was redesignated the Series 90 in 1936 as Cadillac reorganized their model names. 52 units were sold that year, with nearly half ordered as limousines. Hydraulic brakes were added for 1937, the last year of production. 50 vehicles were produced.
. The new engine was an "L Head" (AKA flathead) design, and featured a wider (135 degree) v-angle, twin carburetors, twin fuel pumps, twin distributors,twin water pumps and a nine main bearing crankshaft (compared to the OHV V-16's five bearing crank) and produced the same 185 hp as later versions of the original V-16 with even greater smoothness and endowed the '38-'40 Sixteens with the swiftest acceleration of any car in the world at the time regardless of weight as well as slightly improved fuel economy over the OHV V-16 cars. This engine was nearly silent at idle and turbine-smooth in operation. The wheelbase was reduced to 141 in (3,581 mm), the body remained over 200 in (5,080 mm). The "Sixteens" (as Cadillac referred to them) were basically series 75 cars with the new V-16 engine although they differed from the firewall forward from the V-8 cars and had several other trim differences. The instrument panels were identical to and changed yearly with the V-8 cars from 1938 to 1940. Only the '38 Sixteens had a horn button which had "Sixteen" in art deco script; the '39 and '40 models, like the V-8 had the Cadillac crest on the button. 315 were sold in the first year, 138 in the next. The production of the 1940 models ended in December 1939.
engines were used by Cadillac:
rates all V-16s as CCCA Full Classics, a rating reserved for only the finest automobiles of the 1925–1948 period. Values reflect these opinions; particularly fine examples of the 1930 production can change hands for more than US$500,000 . As always, convertibles are the most valued, and the earlier cars more so than the 1938-40 vehicles. A good condition 1938 sedan can sell for under US$80,000. Certain custom-bodied vehicles have sold for even more.
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The Cadillac V-16 (sometimes known as the Cadillac Sixteen) was Cadillac's top-of-the-line car from its January 1930 launch until production ceased in 1940 as the war in Europe
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
killed sales. All were finished to custom order, and the car was built in very small numbers; only 4076 cars were constructed in the eleven years the model was offered. The majority of these were built in the single year of 1930, before the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
really took hold. This was the first V16
V16 engine
A V16 engine is a V engine with 16 cylinders. Engines of this number of cylinders are uncommon in automotive use.A V16 engine is perfectly balanced regardless of the V angle without requiring counter-rotating balancing shafts which are necessary to balance Straight-4 and odd number of cylinder...
powered car to reach production status in the United States.
Genesis
In 1926, Cadillac began the development of a new, "multi-cylinder" car. A customer requirement was seen for a car powered by an engine simultaneously more powerful and smoother than any hitherto available. Development proceeded in great secrecy over the next few years; a number of prototype cars were built and tested as the new engine was developed, while at the same time Cadillac chief Lawrence Fisher and GM's stylist Harley EarlHarley Earl
Harley J. Earl was first Vice President of Design at General Motors. He was an industrial designer and a pioneer of modern transportation design. A coachbuilder by trade, Earl pioneered the use of freeform sketching and hand sculpted clay models as design techniques...
toured Europe in search of inspiration from Europe's finest coachbuilder
Coachbuilder
A coachbuilder is a manufacturer of bodies for carriages or automobiles.The trade dates back several centuries. Rippon was active in the time of Queen Elizabeth I, Barker founded in 1710 by an officer in Queen Anne's Guards, Brewster a relative newcomer , formed in 1810. Others in Britain included...
s. Unlike many builders of luxury cars, who sold bare chassis to be clothed by outside coachbuilding firms, General Motors had purchased the coachbuilders Fleetwood Metal Body
Fleetwood Metal Body
Fleetwood Metal Body was an automobile coachbuilder. The name derives from Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, home of the company at the start, and lived on for decades in the form of the Cadillac Fleetwood and various Fleetwood trim lines on Cadillac cars....
and Fisher Body
Fisher Body
Fisher Body is an automobile coachbuilder founded by the Fisher brothers in 1908 in Detroit, Michigan; it is now an operating division of General Motors Company...
to keep all the business in-house. Bare Cadillac chassis could be purchased if a buyer insisted, but the intention was that few would do so.
It was not until after the stock market crash of 1929 that Cadillac announced to the world the availability of the costliest Cadillac yet, the new V-16. The new vehicle was first displayed at New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's automobile show on January 4, 1930.
Early production
The new car attracted rave reviews from the press and huge public attention. Cadillac started production of the new car immediately. January production averaged a couple of cars per day, but was then ramped up to twenty-two cars per day. By April, 1,000 units had been built, and by June, 2,000 cars. These could be ordered with a wide variety of bodywork. The Fleetwood catalog for the 1930 V-16 included 10 basic body styles; there was also an envelope containing some 30 additional designer's drawings. Research by the Cadillac-La Salle Club, Inc. puts at 70 the number of different job/style numbers built by Fisher and Fleetwood on the sixteen chassis.Beginning in June 1930, six new V-16s participated in a promotional tour of major European cities including Paris, Antwerp, Brussels, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Berlin, Cologne, Dresden, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Münich, Nüremberg, Vienna (where they won prizes), Berne, Geneva, Lausanne, Zürich, Madrid, San Sebastian, La Baule and Angers. On the return journey from Spain, the V16 caravan stopped also in the town of Cadillac, in south-western France, although that city bears no relationship to the marque, other than its name.
After the peak in V-16 orders in mid 1930, production fell precipitously. During October 1930, only 54 cars were built. The lowest figures for the 452/452A cars of 1930-31 were August 1931 (7 units) and November 1931 (6 units). Minimum production continued throughout the rest of the decade with a mere 50 units being built both in 1935 and in 1937. 1940 was only marginally better with a total of 51 units. Not surprisingly, Cadillac later estimated that they lost money on every single V-16 they sold.
Later production through 1937
For 1934, the body was redesigned again and denoted 452-D. The V-16 now featured the Fisher Body
Fisher Body
Fisher Body is an automobile coachbuilder founded by the Fisher brothers in 1908 in Detroit, Michigan; it is now an operating division of General Motors Company...
"turret-top" all-steel roof, though the cars were still built by Fleetwood
Fleetwood Metal Body
Fleetwood Metal Body was an automobile coachbuilder. The name derives from Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, home of the company at the start, and lived on for decades in the form of the Cadillac Fleetwood and various Fleetwood trim lines on Cadillac cars....
. This same basic design would remain virtually unchanged through 1937. With a wheelbase of 154 inches (3,912 mm) and a curb weight of up to 6600 pounds (2,993.7 kg) these are perhaps the largest standard production cars ever produced in the United States. Combined production for the 1934 and 1935 model years was 150. It was redesignated the Series 90 in 1936 as Cadillac reorganized their model names. 52 units were sold that year, with nearly half ordered as limousines. Hydraulic brakes were added for 1937, the last year of production. 50 vehicles were produced.
1938–1940
The V-16 "Series 90" and V-12 "Series 80 and 85", were essentially merged for 1938 with the introduction of the new L-head V-16Cadillac V16 engine
The Cadillac V16 engine was a type of automobile engine produced in the 1930s. Cadillac produced two of only three production, gasoline-fueled V16 engine models in history. Both were used in the Cadillac V-16 automobile, the first from 1930 until 1937, and the second between 1938 and 1940...
. The new engine was an "L Head" (AKA flathead) design, and featured a wider (135 degree) v-angle, twin carburetors, twin fuel pumps, twin distributors,twin water pumps and a nine main bearing crankshaft (compared to the OHV V-16's five bearing crank) and produced the same 185 hp as later versions of the original V-16 with even greater smoothness and endowed the '38-'40 Sixteens with the swiftest acceleration of any car in the world at the time regardless of weight as well as slightly improved fuel economy over the OHV V-16 cars. This engine was nearly silent at idle and turbine-smooth in operation. The wheelbase was reduced to 141 in (3,581 mm), the body remained over 200 in (5,080 mm). The "Sixteens" (as Cadillac referred to them) were basically series 75 cars with the new V-16 engine although they differed from the firewall forward from the V-8 cars and had several other trim differences. The instrument panels were identical to and changed yearly with the V-8 cars from 1938 to 1940. Only the '38 Sixteens had a horn button which had "Sixteen" in art deco script; the '39 and '40 models, like the V-8 had the Cadillac crest on the button. 315 were sold in the first year, 138 in the next. The production of the 1940 models ended in December 1939.
Engines
Two different V-16V16 engine
A V16 engine is a V engine with 16 cylinders. Engines of this number of cylinders are uncommon in automotive use.A V16 engine is perfectly balanced regardless of the V angle without requiring counter-rotating balancing shafts which are necessary to balance Straight-4 and odd number of cylinder...
engines were used by Cadillac:
- The Series 452 from 1930 until 1937, a narrow 45° V angle OHV (overhead valve) engine.
- The Series 90 from 1938 to 1940, a lower, wider 135° V angle L-head (in-block valve) engine.
Cadillac V-16s today
The Cadillac V-16 is today recognized as one of the finest automobiles of the prewar era by many authorities. The Classic Car Club of AmericaClassic Car Club of America
The Classic Car Club of America is an organization founded in 1952 to celebrate the grand automobiles of the prewar period. At the time, the vehicles covered by the Club were considered too modern to be of any interest by such organizations as the Antique Automobile Club of America and despite...
rates all V-16s as CCCA Full Classics, a rating reserved for only the finest automobiles of the 1925–1948 period. Values reflect these opinions; particularly fine examples of the 1930 production can change hands for more than US$500,000 . As always, convertibles are the most valued, and the earlier cars more so than the 1938-40 vehicles. A good condition 1938 sedan can sell for under US$80,000. Certain custom-bodied vehicles have sold for even more.
Concept Car
In 2003, Cadillac created a concept car called the Sixteen, which used a V-16 engine that developed 1000 hp. Even though it used the current "A&S" (Art & Science) style of design that is Cadillac's stylistic hallmark, it shared many small details from the classic V-16. The Sixteen is also known to have the steering wheel logo carved out of solid crystal and a BulgariBulgari
Bulgari is an Italian jeweler and luxury goods retailer which has been owned by the French firm LVMH since October 2011. The trademark is usually written "BVLGARI" in the classical Latin alphabet , and is derived from the surname of the company's Greek founder, Sotirio Voulgaris...
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External links
- Yann Saunders and the Cadillac-LaSalle Club, Inc. (1996–2004). The (new) Cadillac Database©: The Cadillac V16. Retrieved May 23, 2004 from http://cadillacdatabase.org/Dbas_txt/V16_ndx.htm.
- "Sixteen-Cylinder Motor Latest Auto Wonder" Popular Mechanics, March 1930 article on first Cadillac V-16 engine