A 1953 Cadillac Elegante — a one-of-a-kind piece with a handcrafted body and 24-karat gold-plated finishes — sold for $1.275 million (about R$6.5 million) at Kruse Auctions in Auburn, Indiana. It is the highest amount ever paid for a Cadillac at public auction. With house fees, the deal reached $1.4 million, about R$7.2 million.
The result exceeded the brand’s previous record by more than US$ 300 thousand: the US$ 940 thousand (R$ 4,8 million at the current exchange rate) paid in 2023 for a 1934 Fleetwood Aerodynamic Coupé V16.
Photo: Kruse Auctions | Disclosure
The car was born from an idea by graphic artist Harry Birdsall with his friend Joe Mascari, who started from a Cadillac 62 Series chassis. Birdsall made the first sketches, later refined by Albrecht von Goertz, then at the beginning of his career — years later, the German designer would sign the BMW 503 and 507.
The aluminum body was hand-molded by Carrozzeria Motto, of Turin, in a process that took 30 months and cost about US$ 30 thousand in the 1950s. To measure the value, Robb Report magazine recalls that a brand new Chevrolet Corvette went for less than US$ 3,000 at that time.
24-karat gold and roof that disappears in the trunk
The pearlescent paint is accompanied by 24-karat gold-plated door handles, trims and frames. The rigid roof, electro-hydraulically operated, retracts entirely in the trunk and transforms the coupe into a convertible. Inside, there is burgundy Italian leather, panoramic windshield and transparent acrylic steering wheel with illuminated medallion of St. Kitts.
Photo: Kruse Auctions | Disclosure
Under the hood is Cadillac’s 5.4 V8 engine, with a four-body carburetor and about 213 hp, connected to the four-speed Hydra-Matic automatic transmission. The Elegante was presented to the public at the 1955 New York Auto Show, as the first of a planned series of ten units. No others were built.
Hurricane and 16-year restoration
Birdsall died in 1960. The car passed through several owners and ended up in Florida, where it was damaged while sheltering during the passage of Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Back in the family, it had the restoration conducted by Dick Birdsall: 16 years of work, completed in 2014, and recognition in the Amelia Island elegance contest.
The Elegant arrived at the hammer with 4,331 miles on the odometer, equivalent to about 7,000 km, in addition to documented restoration history and ownership records. It was about 73 years away from the public, and this was the first time the model appeared at auction. The auction, the 56th edition of the Auburn Auction & Show, brought together more than 2,000 buyers between September 3 and 5 and moved about US$ 21 million, with 85% of the lots sold.
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