By the 1980s, Cadillac realized that decades of rebadging and poor quality took a toll on its reputation. After all, this was a decade in which a mildly disguised Chevy Cavalier was sold as the Cadillac Cimarron. To recapture its mojo, Cadillac decided to build a bespoke two-seat convertible to compete with the likes of the Jaguar XJS and Mercedes SL.
Enter the Cadillac Allanté.
Is the Cadillac Allanté Genius or Absurd?
To compete with the Europeans, Cadillac ventured across the pond. Cadillac General Manager Bob Burger decided that GM would manufacture the chassis and engine, but the body would come from a storied coachbuilder. That would bestow the Allanté with the proper cachet.
After meeting with several firms, Burger selected Pininfarina, the legendary Italian design house. The firm famous for stellar Ferrari and Alfa Romeo models would pen the Cadillac Allanté’s body and build it as well.
GM and Pininfarina constructed a new factory in San Giorgio Canavese, outside of Turin, for building the bodies. Completed shells would then be air-freighted—via specially outfitted 747s—from Italy to Cadillac’s plant in Hamtramck, Mich., where GM merged the bodies with the rest of the car.
The Air Bridge, as it was called, could carry 56 bodies per flight. So if you count the over 21,000 Allantés sold, GM paid for nearly 400 trans-Atlantic flights.
The Cadillac Allanté debuted in 1987 with a 4.1-liter V-8 engine, good for 170 horsepower and 235 pound-feet of torque. It stickered at $54,700, the equivalent of $143,000 in 2022 dollars. For comparison, a Fleetwood 75 limousine was priced around $36,000.
While the international production line earned Cadillac a lot of press, the Allanté struggled to garner the praise heaped upon the Mercedes or Jag. It used a front-wheel-drive layout to compete with traditional rear-wheel-drive stalwarts, and status-conscious shoppers preferred the similarly priced 560SL.
Cadillac continued to update the Allanté, dropping in a 4.5-liter V-8 generating 200 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque for the 1989 model year.
More Power Fixes All Sins
1993 was the best year for the Allanté. That was the year GM gave it the much-lauded Northstar 4.6-liter V-8 with 295 horses and 290 pound-feet of torque. The engine transformed the car, but it was too late for Allanté. The higher-ups at GM had already decided to can the project, making 1993 its final year.
These days, interest in Cadillac Allantés is creeping back up, buoyed by enthusiasm for models from the late 1980s and early 1990s. To some, the car’s ambitious and bizarre backstory is irresistible as well.
In 2022, an eBay seller asked $14,900 for a well-kept example with 87,590 miles. In addition to having the one-year-only Northstar engine, it’s also finished in the single-year Polo Green, which gives the Caddy an extra tinge of old-world European class. The mileage isn’t stratospheric, but also not so low that you’ll feel guilty about adding more style, comfort, and power to correct for past design sins.
Compare that offer with the Allanté models for sale now on eBay.
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