Cadillac V-16 Price Guide

The Cadillac V-16 is one of the most extraordinary production cars ever built — a sixteen-cylinder automobile that debuted in 1930 as the most complex and most prestigious motor car in the world. Ettore Bugatti reportedly said that Cadillac was the only American manufacturer that built cars the way a watchmaker would. The V-16 was the car he had in mind.

The Car

Introduced at the January 1930 salon season, the Series 452 V-16 used a 452 cubic inch (7,407cc) 45-degree overhead-valve V16 producing 165bhp — an engine of extraordinary smoothness and refinement that made any contemporary twelve or eight feel agricultural by comparison. Bodies were by Fleetwood, the coachbuilding division General Motors had acquired specifically to produce bodies for the V-16. Phaeton, convertible, roadster, sedan, limousine, and town car configurations were all available. 3,251 were built in 1930 alone; the Depression reduced this to 364 by 1933. A second-generation flathead V16 of 431 cubic inches replaced the overhead-valve unit in 1938, but it is the 1930–1937 overhead-valve cars that collectors prize most highly.

Buying

A V-16 phaeton or convertible in original Fleetwood coachwork is among the most significant American cars that money can acquire. Values have been rising for decades and show no sign of reversing. Authentication through the Cadillac & LaSalle Club is essential — the Cadillac Heritage Centre holds factory build records for most surviving cars. The V-12 was the more accessible companion model.