Rare Rides Icons: The Cadillac Eldorado, Distinctly Luxurious (Part XV)

Last week in our Cadillac Eldorado saga, we covered the visual updates in the new-for-’57 Eldorado Biarritz. Part of a styling revision across the line at Cadillac that year, the Eldorado in particular drifted away from the bulbous fenders and tall hood shapes that were a hallmark of post-WWII American car design. But there were two more Eldorados in 1957! One of them looked more daring than the Biarritz, and the other looked almost like it was from the past.

(Note: The red example is the '57 Eldorado Seville, blue is a '56 Eldorado Seville, and the black four-door is a '57 Eldorado Brougham.)

The most daring Eldorado in 1957 was the hardtop Seville. An add-on model in the prior generation in 1956, Seville found itself immediately more popular than the convertible. Whether that popularity was down to its practicality, a stylish hardtop roofline, or something else, Seville would be a permanent member of the Eldorado family.

In 1957 the front end of the Eldorado Seville adopted an identical look to the Biarritz. The lower and smoother hood, revised egg crate grille and smaller rubber-tipped Dagmars, quad driving lamps, it was all there. The only way to tell a Seville from Biarritz in the front third of the car was to check for the golden Seville badging at the front edge of the fender. 

Like the Biarritz, Seville also adopted a less is more attitude with body side trim. It also shared the same rear fenders, fender trim, fins, and rear end design as the convertible. Visual differences between Biarritz and Seville occurred almost exclusively in the middle of the car, and it was a big departure from 1956.

The Biarritz roofline did not change all that much in the translation to a new generation in 1957. However, Seville diverged here and opted for a B-pillar that was canted rearward like most other Cadillacs that year. The windshield had a gentler angle and was wrapped around further into the door in 1957, just like the Biarritz.

The two cars did not share a lower window line. The Seville’s angled downward before kicking up suddenly to meet the downward slope of the roofline as it headed past the door. Joined together, the two angles mimicked the B-pillar as it angled toward the trunk. Like the Biarritz, Seville lost its ribbed saddle trim along the window. It further served to highlight how the Biarritz used the same side window line of 1956, while the Seville didn’t.

The Seville’s shape made for a large rear window that was almost as curvy as the windshield. In between those two panes of glass there was not a pillar to be found; the only interruption was from the adjustable vent window. This styling update lent the Seville a sportier image than the Biarritz, and made it look newer. Only so many shapes could be formed when restricted by the canvas top of the convertible.

In contrast to the advancement of the ‘57 Seville was the Series 70 Eldorado Brougham. Though the super expensive and hand-built car was an epitome moment for Cadillac at the time, its styling was clearly dictated before the brand knew what 1957 models would look like. Keen observation highlights lots of leftover styling cues from the first half of the decade.

One detail that was important to customers and certainly not a leftover were the headlamps. All 1957 Eldorado Broughams came with quad headlamps as standard. It’s unclear whether that was a result of them arriving later in the model year (as all states approved quad lamps in 1958), or if Cadillac just didn’t sell any in states where quad lamps were not yet legal.

The rest of the front end was a mix of details old and new. The egg crate grille and Dagmars were straight off the other ‘57 Eldorados, but driving lamps were square and of the 1956 persuasion. There were some bullseye-style chrome details beneath the headlamps that almost looked like working lights, but were purely for decoration. 

In the middle of the hood the Brougham wore exclusive Eldorado block lettering, and was the only Cadillac that year to skip a crest on its hood. There was a crest behind the front tire on the fender, another indication of its early design date: The rest of the brand already abandoned that placement. Beginning at the corner of the headlamps and heading down the front fender there was a chrome trim strip underneath the company’s 1950s character line. 

The chrome was slightly higher on the body than the typical Fifties Cadillac, but for a particular reason. It extended down the front and rear doors and curved downward into the sort of vent detail seen on the brand’s models between 1950 and 1956. But again that was a throwback, as side vent details had vanished from the rest of the lineup.

Unique to the Eldorado Brougham was its door arrangement, as it featured coach doors. At the sedan’s lower edge was a chrome trim strip that began at the front wheel arch. It expanded at the vent detailing and covered the lower fender. The trim also wrapped underneath, and extended all the way to the rear. That made the Brougham look sort of similar to the other ‘57 Eldorados.

The rear-hinged coach doors might’ve been something special (and perhaps complicated) if they worked with the company’s new roofline. However, the Eldorado Brougham used the 1956 and earlier roof, where the B-pillar leaned forward and was joined by a less aggressive wrap-around rear window. Heading further aft were the Brougham’s fins, which look as though they were a copy paste from the 1956 Eldorado.

Far from the regular Eldorado’s rear fender line that angled downward, the Brougham was more akin to the Series 75 sedan. It maintained some rear fender similarity with the other new Eldorados by skipping the rounded pod that bulged out below the fin to hold the rear lamps. Instead, the Brougham’s rear lamps were contained within the fin, a nice piece of design. 

The bumper contained exhaust outlets at either corner which stuck out via their own large extensions, sort of like the ‘56 Eldorado. The bumper was separated into two sections like current Eldorado design, and contained the dual reversing lamps and an additional red lamp. Unlike Eldorado which had its fuel filler door at the left rear fender, Brougham located it next to the trunk lid where it would usually be concealed by the fin. 

That meant the fender area was metal sans interruption. Wheels looked smooth too, as the exclusive Brougham rode on a set of turbine alloys that were more aggressive and better looking than the multi-vane chromes available on other Cadillacs. In our next installment we’ll take a look at the interior differences and modernizations implemented on the 1957 Eldorado. 

[Images: seller, seller, seller]

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