Twenty Questions, Mk IV - Solved! 1950 Cadillac Series 61 Coupe

[Otto Puzzell]

Buick Skylark?

No sir.

(9)

[Otto Puzzell]

Or maybe a Riviera?

Not one of those.

( 8 )

[pieter]

Are we even in the right area? (Cabriolet/coupe versions of mass produced cars, as opposed to, say, pickup trucks or 4x4's)

[Otto Puzzell]

Yes, it is a mass-produced passenger car.

[pieter]

If not a Cadillac Eldorado, maybe another model with the Cadillac name?

[Otto Puzzell]

Yes!

( 6 )

[pieter]

?

[Arthur Dent]

Cadillac Allanté?

[Otto Puzzell]

?

No.

[Otto Puzzell]

Cadillac Allanté?

A bit older than than...

[pieter]

I'm running out of answers - maybe the 1950ish Le Mans Monster?

I take that back - Karn had said that it was a mass-produced passenger car.

[Ray B.]

Or the original 1949 Coupe DeVille ? (Pieter having proposed the 1954)

[pieter]

The Calais name has not been mentioned yet...

[@re]

I'm having a bit of trouble with this one - KarnUtz' own rules state that it is "a relatively well-know automobile that most any casual automotive enthusiast from most any land could ID". That's not the case with the Calais - most European car enthusiasts can not tell the difference between American cars from 1950 to 1980 unless we're talking about cars that are particularly famous (and the case is probably the same with American enthusiasts and European cars). Which means I'm quite looking forward to the answer to this quiz - if it's not an Eldorado and not a De Ville, I'm more or less out of guesses

[pieter]

Being down here in South Africa I do not know my Cadillacs at all - even though my father worked at a Fiat & Cadillac garage in the fifties. (I was not in school yet then.)
I have also come across a model called the 'Sixty-Two'. Was that an official name?
And, are we not just about out of points?

[Otto Puzzell]

I'm running out of answers - maybe the 1950ish Le Mans Monster?

I take that back - Karn had said that it was a mass-produced passenger car.

You're on the right track...

[pieter]

At that race (1950 Le Mans) there was also a production Cadillac.
I believe there was a limited run bearing the Le Mans name
<<< Link Removed >>>

[Otto Puzzell]

Well, all of the 20 questions have been posed.

The car I was going for (hence my answer above) was 1950 Cadillac Series 61 Coupe. The "right track" connection was because two of these mass-produced cars were sent to LeMans in that year. The team was lead by well-known race car builder and driver, Briggs Cunningham. Two Cadillac's were prepped for the race. One remained basically stock receiving simple modifications such as the addition of a two carburetor intake system, welded-on air ducts for the drum brakes, an extra 35-gallon gas tank in the trunk and simple race equipment such as hood straps and safety restraints.

The other car was stripped to its bare chassis and re bodied by Bill Frick of Fordillac fame at his Long Island, NY shop. He received assistance from aerodynamicists and metal workers from Grumman Aircraft in developing a streamlined roadster envelope. When unveiled at LeMans, this striking body was nicknamed, 'LeMonstre' by the French motoring press. That is the car pieter posted above. Since he was so close, and also posted "Series 62", I'm awarding him a point for his effort.   

Of the early post-war Cadillacs, I'd say the Series 61 would be among the most recognizable by auto enthusiasts outside of the States.