This article was translated by John R. Bopp
The other day, we mentioned to our readers how Bing, Microsoft’s search engine, had chosen an image of the Biarritz coast as its background photo for many of its different versions
One of our readers was nice enough to mention to us how the Cadillac motor car company had created, in 1956, a vehicle that carried the name of the same town. It was an automobile that definitely captured the elegance of Biarritz in its lines, though, given its length, it would have been a nightmare to drive in the Northern Basque Country city.
The Cadillac Eldorado was launched in 1953 to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary, and it was introduced as the “ideal car”. Starting with its second generation, in 1956, the name Biarritz was given to the convertible model.
Over the years, Cadillac launched several different generations of the Eldorado Biarritz, changing the styling and engines. Of all of them, our favorites are the 1958 model, of which we’ve included a video so you can appreciate its elegance, and the 1959 model, which you can see at the top of the page.
And just to give you an idea, the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz was 225in/5.72m long, 80in/2m wide, weighed 5060lb/2295kg, and was powered by a 390 cu in / 6.4L V8 that produced 345hp / 257kW and got 9.8mpg / 24L/100km.
Anyone who wants to know more about this icon of the 1950s and 1960s American motor industry can check out Wikipedia, or just Google it!
Cadillac takes the name for its iconic ‘50s convertible from the Basque city of Biarritz
Last Updated on Dec 20, 2020 by About Basque Country
