By the late 1950s, Cadillac reigned supreme over the full-sized luxury car market in North America with exciting products that featured advanced engineering and the leading-edge styling of Harley Earl. While the 1959 Eldorado was controversial and misunderstood in its heyday, the collectors and critics of today agree that it possesses an unmatched combination of power, presence, and extravagance. In 1959, the Eldorado sub-series included the Seville hardtop and the Biarritz convertible, along with the Brougham four-door hardtop.

Standard Eldorado features included all the items available on the Series 62 DeVille line and beyond, including a heater, foglamps, air suspension, AM radio with rear-mounted speaker, power windows, a six-way power seat, electric door locks, automatic trunk release, steel wheels that display full “turbine vane” or “fluted” wheel covers, plus whitewall tires and rear fender skirts.

Only four options were available, and the exceptional Cadillac offered here has the optional Autronic-Eye automatic headlight-dimming device. The Eldorado also features the ultimate engine for 1959, the enlarged Q-code 390-cu. in. V-8, topped by three two-barrel Rochester carburetors. This powerplant produced 345 hp and was mated to a three-speed Hydra-Matic automatic transmission as standard equipment.