Legend has it film crew pushed Eldorado

In the fifth instalment on GM’s 1955 Motorama dream cars, we focus this on the Cadillac Eldorado Brougham.

Of all the dream cars at the 1955 Motorama, the Eldorado was closest to being production ready.

Indeed, it was a prototype of the 1957-58 Eldorado Brougham sedan.

Built of steel, it was painted metallic Chameleon Green.

The car’s design, size and features extended a Motorama theme for Cadillac that started with the 1953 Orleans and 1954 Park Avenue dream cars: rear hinged back doors, pillarless construction and an absence of front vent windows.

The styling and building of the car was completed in just three months which was an amazingly short time, given it was largely operable, with moving side windows, opening doors, bonnet and boot lid.

The project was led by Cadillac’s design boss, Ed Glowacke.

The roof was covered in brushed stainless steel, a feature that appeared on the production Eldorado Brougham in 1957.

This was a long and low car.

It had a 124 inch (3150m) wheelbase and stood 54.4 inches (1380mm) high.

Because it was so low, the design incorporated swivel front seats for ease of entry and exit.

Strangely, very few colour photos were ever officially taken of the Eldorado.

There is a black and white promotional film on You Tube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjuAfSLwVzc) which showcases many of the Eldorado’s operating features, including a short segment where it is “driven” on a driveway.

Legend has it that it was pushed by a couple of the film crew.

When it was displayed at Motorama, the Eldorado was surrounded by three, one-off production Cadillacs that had been especially “dressed” for the event.

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There was a red coupe called the Celebrity, a white convertible known as the St Moritz and a black and white sedan called the Westchester.

The Celebrity and St Moritz appeared in Cadillac’s Motorama brochure.

This handout depicted a very elegant and obviously rich couple being introduced to GM’s President, Harlow Curtis and various Cadillac managers, and then wandering among the Cadillacs at Motorama.

The Eldorado’s final resting place is unknown, though it was most likely destroyed.

David Burrell is the editor of retroautos.com.au