Pick of the Day: The Italian Cadillac

In what may have been one of the most expensive vehicle production systems ever devised, Cadillac of Detroit worked with Pininfarina of Italy to produce the Allante, a luxury 2-seater. Bodies and interiors were created in Torino, then traveled via the “air bridge” across the Atlantic in specially equipped Boeing 747s to Michigan, where the powertrain, suspension, etc., were installed. 

Euro-American vehicles had been done before, but made the crossing via ship. Between 1987 and 1993, more than 21,000 Allante chassis traveled the air bridge. We don’t know what the “toll” for such travel might have been, but the cars were priced at around $55,000, or some $20K more than a Chevrolet Corvette.

But they were stylish, and they came with a story to delight your buddies at the country club. They came with anti-lock brakes and you could order yours with something called a cellular telephone. 

The Pick of the Day is a 1991 Cadillac Allante being offered for sale by its second owner. 

“I’ve owned this Allante since December of 1999 and I’m the second owner of the fine low-mileage car,less than 27,000 miles,” says the private seller advertising the car on ClassicCars.com. “I’ve gotten to the point of having too many cars in relation to my age.

“The first one I had to sell was a ‘64 Vette about six month ago and it broke my heart. The next one is this Allante. which is also hard to part with.  

“This is an Italian-made American sports car.  The body design and coachwork is by Pininfarina in Turin, Italy. They would fly the bodies in to Michigan, US, on a specially built 747.  I personally stopped by the Pininfarina plant while I was in Italy one time and unfortunately was unable to tour the plant because I hadn’t made a pre-arranged appointment.  

“This two-seater has black leather interior with a tilt steering wheel and dealer installed radar detection system.  The car has functioning Air Conditioning system and a  headlight washing system… The car comes with both a soft top in excellent condition and a separate hard top.  The hard top includes a special designed stand and cover.”

The car, which is Bloomfield, New Jersey, is being offered for $15,500. To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.