Max Minshull
Associate Specialist
LOT 6
1962 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible Chassis no. 62E023427
Sold for US$40,320 inc. premiumLot to be sold without reserve
Lot 6
1962 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible
1962 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible
Chassis no. 62E023427
Chassis no. 62E023427
390ci OHV V-8 Engine
Single 4-Barrel Carburetor
325bhp at 4,800rpm
4-Speed Hydra-Matic Automatic Transmission
Independent Front Suspension, Live Rear Axle
4-Wheel Drum Brakes
* One of just 1,450 Eldorado Biarritz convertibles built for the 1962 model year, and the final season for Cadillac's dramatic "skeg" tailfin styling
* The senior, most opulently equipped Cadillac convertible of its day — a fitting flagship for the marque's 60th anniversary year
* Full power equipment throughout, including power top, windows, seat and steering, plus Eldorado-exclusive wire wheels and brushed stainless rear beauty panel
THE ELDORADO BIARRITZ
By 1962, the Eldorado name had come to signify the very top of Cadillac's range — and, by extension, of the American automobile industry. Since 1957 the Eldorado Biarritz had shared its basic structure with the standard Series 62 convertible, but was distinguished throughout by a longer list of standard equipment, unique trim, and a price tag to match: at $7,401 new, it commanded a substantial premium over the standard convertible, a figure few contemporaries could approach. From 1961, the Biarritz convertible stood alone as the sole surviving Eldorado body style, the companion Seville hardtop coupe having been discontinued the year before.
1962 was a significant year for Cadillac, marking the marque's 60th anniversary and the introduction of cornering lamps as standard equipment across the range. It was also the final season for the dramatic "skeg" tailfins introduced in 1961 — slim, blade-like fins that housed the tail lamps and gave the big convertible a sense of motion even at rest, before the cleaner, more restrained lines of the all-new 1963 body arrived. Styled under the direction of GM's Bill Mitchell, the 1962 Eldorado struck a careful balance between the excess of the late-1950s fin era and the crisper formality that would follow and is regarded by many collectors as the most cohesively styled Cadillac of the period.
THE CAR OFFERED
The example offered here is finished in Victorian Gold over a White interior, and presents as a sorted, ready-to-enjoy driver rather than a trailer queen. Original options featured were Soft-Ray tinted glass, factory air conditioning, power door locks, and remote trunk lock. It wears its history honestly and runs and drives as a well-sorted example of the model should. It is a genuinely handsome car in the metal — the Bill Mitchell-era lines have aged gracefully, and the Eldorado's correct wire wheels, stainless rear panel and Biarritz trim draw admiring glances at every stop. For a buyer who wants to use a full-size American convertible rather than simply own one, it would be hard to find a more usable, better-sorted example.
As one of only 1,450 Eldorado Biarritz convertibles built for 1962 — and one of the last Cadillacs to wear the marque's signature tailfins in their purest form — this example represents an opportunity to acquire a landmark of American postwar design, presented in genuinely usable order.
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