1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz
Build Sheet
| Year | 1959 |
|---|---|
| Engine | 390 cu in (6.4 L) OHV V8 with three two-barrel carburetors (Tri-Power) |
| Horsepower | 345 hp |
| 0–60 mph | approximately 11 seconds (period estimate for the 5,000-plus-pound convertible) |
| Production | 1,320 Eldorado Biarritz convertibles built for 1959 |
| Original MSRP | $7,401 base price when new (1959) |
| Current value | broadly $150,000 to $300,000 for fine examples; a strong car sold for $286,000 at Mecum in 2025 and a record example brought $415,000 in 2022 |
The Story
If any single automobile captures the exuberance of late-1950s America, it is the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz. The Biarritz was the open-topped flagship of Cadillac's Eldorado line, a two-door convertible crowned by the tallest, most dramatic tailfins the marque ever produced. Twin bullet taillamps, acres of chrome, and a 225-inch overall length made the car a rolling statement of postwar optimism and prosperity.
Power came from Cadillac's 390-cubic-inch overhead-valve V8. In Eldorado trim the engine was fitted with three two-barrel carburetors, a Tri-Power arrangement that raised output to 345 horsepower, the highest rating in the Cadillac range that year. Drive went through a four-speed Hydra-Matic automatic transmission. At more than 5,000 pounds, the Biarritz was built for stately, effortless cruising rather than outright speed, reaching 60 mph from rest in roughly eleven seconds.
The Biarritz was lavishly equipped by the standards of any era. Standard appointments included air-assisted suspension, power windows, a six-way power front seat, power door locks, a radio with rear speaker, fog lamps, and whitewall tires. All of this came at a price that placed the car firmly among the most expensive American automobiles of its day: the Biarritz carried a base price of $7,401 when new, several times the cost of an ordinary family sedan.
Production was correspondingly exclusive. Cadillac built 1,320 Eldorado Biarritz convertibles for 1959, a small fraction of total Cadillac output and a figure that has helped sustain the model's standing among collectors. Today the 1959 Biarritz is regarded as a blue-chip icon of American design. Fine examples generally trade in the range of $150,000 to $300,000, with a well-presented car selling for $286,000 at a Mecum auction in 2025 and an exceptional example reaching a reported $415,000 in 2022. More than six decades on, the 1959 Eldorado Biarritz remains the definitive expression of an era when American cars reached for the sky.
