Rare Rides Icons: The Cadillac Eldorado, Distinctly Luxurious (Part XVII)
In our last installment of Rare Rides, we checked out the interior changes Cadillac’s engineers and designers made for the new and improved third generation Eldorado in 1957. And while the interior of the standard Eldorados that year was largely shared with the rest of the Cadillac lineup, there was an exception: Eldorado Brougham. Like we saw previously with the Brougham’s mix-and-match approach in use of old and new exterior styling cues, the interior went its own direction as well.
(Note: In this article we’ll discuss the differences in interiors between a 1957 Eldorado Biarritz in green, and a ‘57 Eldorado Brougham in gray.)
Most notable upon entering the driver’s side of the Eldorado Brougham was its jet-inspired gauge cluster. In essence, it was the cluster of the standard Eldorado with additional spicy details layered over top of it. The two cars shared the same ovoid binnacle for the gauges, and used the same speedometer layout as well. Aside from those two details, things diverged.
At either side of the gauge cluster was a vertical integrated fin detail, with a bright green piece of bullet-shaped plastic trim atop the assembly. The dash wrapped around both of the points which ended up looking like horns, and added visual interest to the cabin. The green points actually functioned as the turn signal indicator lights, a novel touch.
The chrome fins under the green points drew the eye downward to two new circular jet engine shaped pods at either side, for a total of four. The left pods gave separate oil and temperature readouts. The right-hand pods had two more gauges, the left one for generator status, and the rightmost was for fuel. Though still minimal, the Eldorado Brougham driver was provided with slightly more information than other Cadillac buyers in 1957.
Underneath the gauge cluster, the Brougham shared its new slider climate controls with other Cadillacs that year. They were viewed through a steering wheel which was unique to Eldorado Brougham. Though it used two spokes like all Cadillacs in 1957, the spokes had a smoother, less angular look to them. In the middle of the wheel was an indention with vertical ridged detailing that included the Cadillac V, but not a crest.
Further upmarket cues were provided by the steering wheel rim, which used a two-tone color scheme not found in other Eldorados that year. Stalks for the turn signals and transmission were also different: The former had a ridged design to match the steering wheel, while the transmission lever was decked in full chrome.
The wrap-around (and over) dash of the Eldorado was implemented in largely the same shape on the Brougham, but there were a few differences. Though the radio and drum-style analog clock were in the same position in both cars, the chrome dash trim of regular Eldorados curved further toward the passenger door than on Brougham.
This edit was necessitated because of the coach door layout of the Brougham, which saw the front doors cut much further into the front fenders. And while Biarritz and Seville passengers had a simple Cadillac script in front of their portion of the dash, Eldorado Brougham was spelled out in the company’s flagship offering. Another trade off due to the design being finalized early: No central floor-mounted ventilation, front occupants had to make do with their footwell vents at either side.
Because of its design, the Eldorado Brougham was unable to move window switches to the dash like in other Eldorados. In that area on Brougham there was a simple vent window control, and all other window switches remained on the door panel. The doors of the Eldorado Brougham wore a design entirely different to other Cadillacs that year.
Door panels had a simple, higher-end look that was less ornamented than other Cadillacs. A darker upper panel contrasted to the remainder of the door’s vinyl padding. There was a larger arm rest than on the regular Eldorado, with a more traditional design. The use of chrome trim was entirely different, and traveled along the upper portion of the door before it wrapped downward to form the base for the armrest.
Just inside that chrome trim was a door handle assembly unique to the model. The door handle was a circular switch that pulled toward the occupant to pop the door open. The assembly held the power window switch as well. For the driver’s door, switches were on a separate panel above the armrest, decorated in very heavy chrome.
For passenger doors, the padded armrest located fingertips right at a chromed ashtray with a cover, and a lighter. Door locks for all doors were at the far corners, a circular chrome button that was either pointed slightly upward, or slightly downward. That solution in particular looked far more elegant than standard push pin locking mechanisms.
Seats in the Eldorado Brougham were slightly more conservative than in other Eldorados. They wore leather and chrome trim at their outside corners to make them look as though they were one swooping piece. As the car was a four-door, Cadillac could install seats that didn’t have to flip forward. The ridged upholstery of the Eldorado was replaced by button tufting in the Brougham. In the example pictured, a buyer also chose a tweedy cloth instead of leather.
Opening the four large coach doors revealed a rear seat area much more spacious than a standard Eldorado. Outboard passengers had their own seat cushions in accommodations that looked more upmarket than the regular car. Still intended for four total occupants instead of five, the central portion of the seat had a luxurious armrest, and a curved metal grate for the radio’s speaker.
Notably there were no Cadillac crests inside the Eldorado Brougham, only the V on the steering wheel and script on the dash. It was common in the Fifties for a manufacturer’s pinnacle product to wear less badging rather than more, to let the styling speak for itself. The owner of this particular (for sale) Eldorado Brougham decided to restomod it a bit, and has installed a supercharged 4.4-liter Northstar V8 from the STS-V. Improvement? That’s your call.
Next time we’ll discuss some of the unique engineering of the Eldorado Brougham which brought unique problems to its wealthy owners. Then we’ll review the updates made to Eldorado for its second and final year in third-gen guise. Until next time.
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Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.
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The suicide doors are cool. (Why in the world are they called that?)
Other than that, it's the Mama Cass of automobiles.
Let's talk tailfins for a second. The fins on this model are just perfect and don't look gaudy or tacked-on (looking at you, '59 DeVille). This is one of the best looking '50s luxury designs - over-the-top enough to distinguish itself as a premium car, but subtle enough to not be gauche (again, looking at you, '59 DeVille).
Amazing looking car, with the build quality to back up the looks. This could well be Peak Detroit.