CADILLAC THROWBACK: THE 1937 PHAETON 5889

 

 

 

 

Though the Cadillac Phaeton 5859 was designed and drawn, it never went into mass production with little or no sales. After the stock market crash of 1929, it was clear that nobody was willing to buy such an expensive luxury vehicle, and it took ages to get one put together. It remained a concept car from which several bits and pieces were borrowed to make future cars.

 

The Phaeton 5859 is at the top of Cadillac's ancestry and which was at the forefront of creating a culture of luxury and comfort. The Cadillac Phaeton 5859 was futuristic for its time and was designed by Cadillac's iconic designer John Hampshire in the 1930s. Only one of these was ever sold, and that was the classic rebuild done by legendary Chicago coach builder Fran Roxas in the 1980s and eventually sold at an auction for a million dollars 30 years later.

 

 

 

 

The Phaeton was designed to be a roadster. The redesign by Roxas was made with Cadillac's famous wheel arches where the famous spoke wheels found a home. Only one color was available, which was jet black. At the head was the imposing grille with the circular headlamps typical of classic cars. Wheelbase for these models averaged 154 inches. Most cars featured the turret top all-steel roof with an original Fleetwood design. The body had an overall length of 222 inches. However, the famous rare-mounted wheel was absent as Cadillac had dumped the design long before the Phaeton 5859 was designed.

 

 

 

 

This Cadillac was designed as a seven-seater limousine with low mileage. The interior of the Rojas redesign was elegant and graceful. Simple but advanced for its time, the cabin was upholstered in brown leather. The carpeting at the base of the cabin matched the upholstery and would surely have been a delight for the post-depression top 1%. On the driver's seat was the black spoke steering wheel that contrasted the body color dash.

 

 

 

 

Cadillac was the first company to build pure V16 engines truly, and cars that were subsequent hits until the great depression. The Cadillac 5859 phaeton was built with Cadillac's V16 chassis. Cadillac V16 s were some of the heaviest production vehicles ever made in the US, weighing an outstanding 3000 pounds.

 

The engine was a then powerful 185 horsepower, 452 cu engine with an overhead V16 valve.

 

 

 

 

There were minimal developments in suspension in those days. The phaeton 5859 design had an independent coil spring front suspension. The rear wheels were set on semi-elliptic leaf springs and mated to the engine with a rear axle and a three-speed manual transmission.

 

 

 

 

The Cadillac Phaeton 1937 Phaeton belonged to the V-16 series launched slightly after the 1929 market crash. They sadly went on to sell poorly despite their innovation and performance. Their low production makes them some of the rarest Cadillac's, with only just a few on the roads today.

 

 

 

 

It's quite sad that the Cadillac Phaeton 5859 never hit the production line. However, the blueprints drawn by John Hampshire would inspire legendary cars for years to come. At Cadillac, the engineers try to ensure that the spirit of the Phaeton still runs in the vehicles they make today. The Phaeton would continue to be a concept car for Ciel and later inspire Rojas to bring the blueprints Hampshire made to life fifty years later.

 

 

 

 

The Cadillac story has only just begun, and you, too, can be a part of the script. To shop new and used Cadillacs, contact us today here at Sunset Cadillac of Sarasota and let us make you an owner.