Written by Eric Becker
Known as “CADMAD,” this Ridler-award-winning amalgamation of a Cadillac and a Nomad (Lot #1419) is bound to turn some heads when it crosses the block with No Reserve in Scottsdale.
Cadillacs of the Jet Age were nothing short of extravagant: Audacious colors, luxurious interiors, powerful engines and fins that would have even the latest jet liners swoon; intergalactic land yachts that would fit right in during Kennedy’s Camelot. Only the Italians could bring restraint to America’s radical Jet Age styling, though Italian design and restraint are seldom seen together. Fortunately, in 1959 Pininfarina stepped in with a much more refined approach: the Eldorado Brougham. Still symbolic of the Jet Age, the Chuck Jordan and David Holls design was tweaked in Italy, maintaining its handsome Cadillac uniformity but free from flashy ornamentation. The result was a Pininfarina-bodied pillarless four-door that seemed akin to what the upper echelons of what The Company’s G-men would be driving.
Over the two-year production run, only 200 Eldorado Broughams would be built, with just 99 examples made during 1959 and 101 for 1960. The Pininfarina body and low production numbers didn’t prevent the builders from taking the knife to this rare Cadillac and creating one of the most striking Cadillac shooting-brake examples to ever cross an auction block.
Besting 800 other entries and taking home the highly coveted Don Ridler Memorial Award at the 2019 Detroit Autorama, the “CadMad” – a combination of Cadillac and Nomad – was a 16-year project and tribute to the project’s commissioner. Although Steve Barton sadly passing away just one year prior to his project’s completion, Barton’s family had the mad Cadillac project completed, a fitting honor.
Converting a four-door sedan into a two-door shooting brake was no easy task. The custom creation was given the ultimate tummy tuck, with 18 inches of overall length chopped off as well as 4 inches in width. The front doors grew 6 inches in length, with the rear doors completely done away with. The roof from a Chevy Nomad was chopped 2 inches and grafted to the Cadillac’s low-slung coachwork. The body was sectioned 2 inches between the rockers and side trim, necessitating that every piece of sheet metal from the factory was modified. The custom wraparound quarter-windows are clad in chrome-covered brass trim, evoking a subtle eloquence that only a Jet Age Cadillac could muster. Not all the Pininfarina bodywork was left on the cutting room floor. The chrome-laden grille, bumpers, taillights and flying goddess hood ornament were all incorporated creating an almost factory aesthetic of the marque’s late ’50s glory.
The initial plan called for 16 cylinders by way of conjoining two Northstar V8s at the crankshaft. That plan was scrapped. Instead, a Nelson Racing Engines (NRE) Warrior Series 632ci twin-turbo big-block was outfitted, allowing this Cadillac to easily keep pace with any sound-barrier-breaking jet fighter looking for a challenge. The monstrous engine breathes through twin 88mm turbochargers and produces well over 1,000hp and 950 ft/lbs of torque at only 7.5 psi while running 91 octane. Feeding the engine is an 18-gallon fuel tank with an auxiliary 4-gallon cell inside housing 112 octane. The high-octane fuel is fed through a set of secondary injectors during uninhibited jabs of the silly pedal, which allows the engine to be capable of producing what NRE says is upwards of 2,500hp. If the tires don’t turn into aerosol first.
Handling all this power is a 4-speed automatic 4L60E transmission and strengthened Corvette transaxle with a final drive ratio of 3.73:1. Additionally, an accessory drive is bolted to the front of the transaxle, enabling the alternator, Vintage Air, power steering pump and starter to be tucked away and hidden at the rear.
The body and powertrain ride on a 1-5/8-inch chromoly round tube space frame that measures a 120.5-inch wheelbase. A hand-built independent front and rear suspension uses QA1 shocks and 6-piston Baer brakes with 15-inch rotors for stopping power. 18-inch EVOD Industries wrapped in Vogue Tyre whitewalls match the original 15-inch wheels the Eldorado left the factory with. A set of mauve-colored RECARO bucket seats nicked from a second-generation Cadillac CTS-V keep occupants securely in place. The dash and interior trim were hand-painted to mimic the African Wenge and Tigerwood Maple wood-grain flooring in the back. The rosé-colored body is covered in two-tone pearlized “Fawntana Rose,” while Ford GT paint option Titanium Silver was chosen for the roof.
Even Chuck Yeager might have put his record-breaking “Glamorous Glennis” Bell X-1 on the back burner had he seen this radical shooting brake. Don’t miss this rosé-hued “CadMad” when it lands in Scottsdale.
For up-to-date information on this vehicle, click HERE. For a look at all the vehicles headed to the 2020 Scottsdale Auction, click HERE.