{"id":1677,"date":"2026-04-11T13:53:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T13:53:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/1677\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T13:53:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T13:53:31","slug":"1956-cadillac-eldorado-seville-hardtop-makes-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/1677\/","title":{"rendered":"1956 Cadillac Eldorado Seville: Hardtop Makes Two!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\tStay up to speed with stories written by drivers, for drivers.<\/p>\n

Get automotive news, DIY tips, market trends, in-depth car profiles, and more right in your email inbox.<\/p>\n

The Eldorado is one of those classic models that everyone knows about. Even people who aren\u2019t into Cadillacs. And why not? The nameplate was in existence from 1953 through 2002. But today\u2019s subject was the first non-convertible Eldo ever offered to the public. And it ushered in another name that would be a big part of Cadillac for decades to come: Seville.<\/p>\n

\"1956Jayson Coombes<\/p>\n

For the first few years of the Eldorado\u2019s existence, it was exclusively a convertible. But starting with the 1956 model year, a new Seville hardtop model joined it. At the same time, the droptop was now marketed as the \u201cEldorado Biarritz.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"1956Jayson Coombes<\/p>\n

The Seville also had something that would become much more common in the next couple of decades: A vinyl roof. All Eldorado Sevilles were graced with one. As the brochure explained, \u201cA special grained Vicodec hardtop roof provides a crowning touch of glamour.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"1956Jayson Coombes<\/p>\n

The sales literature went on extolling the Seville as \u201cA new and exclusive addition to Cadillac\u2019s royal family of motor cars, the Seville is, in the truest sense, a \u2018dream car\u2019 in actual production.<\/p>\n

\"1956Jayson Coombes<\/p>\n

\u201cIt bears all of the unique Eldorado styling characteristics\u2026including the famous high-sweeping rear fenders, \u2018Sabre spoke\u2019 wheels, and the optional gold grille and wheels.<\/p>\n

\"1956Jayson Coombes<\/p>\n

\u201cDeliberately designed and manufactured as the most exclusive motor car of our time, the Eldorado Seville represents Cadillac\u2019s highest achievement in automotive quality and craftsmanship.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"1956Jayson Coombes<\/p>\n

High praise\u2014and prose\u2014for sure, but these early Eldorados were about as close as GM got to handcrafted production models. It wasn\u2019t like later on, when 60-70,000 were cranked out per year. In 1956, only 6050 Eldorados were built, and just 3900 were Sevilles.<\/p>\n

\"1956Jayson Coombes<\/p>\n

With production that low, and given how many more Cadillac dealerships were in the U.S. in the \u201950s versus today, it\u2019s safe to say some small-town dealers may not have gotten even one to place in their showrooms. And it\u2019s also why you don\u2019t see too many today.<\/p>\n

\"1956Jayson Coombes<\/p>\n

Fortunately, my friend and frequent photo contributor, Jayson Coombes, spied this simply spectacular Starlight Silver example at the Grand National CLC meet in Albuquerque back in 2023.<\/p>\n

\"1956Jayson Coombes<\/p>\n

And as I knew he would, he took many, many fine pictures of it. So Jayson, I owe you surf and turf at The Cellar in Geneseo next time you visit!<\/p>\n

\"1956Jayson Coombes<\/p>\n

This was a show I\u2019d have loved to attend. I\u2019ve already written up other cars that were at this show, including the \u201960 Eldorado Biarritz<\/a>, \u201967 Fleetwood Brougham<\/a> and an \u201980 Seville Elegante Diesel<\/a> that its owners drove all the way from California.<\/p>\n

\"1956Jayson Coombes<\/p>\n

Both the \u201956 Eldorado Seville and Eldorado Biarritz had the same MSRP new: $6501 (about $78,800 today). The hardtop weighed in at 4665 pounds; the convertible, 4880. And if you ordered factory air conditioning, you got these nifty air intakes on top of the rear quarter panels.<\/p>\n

\"1956Jayson Coombes<\/p>\n

Both Eldorado models had Cadillac\u2019s fine 365-cubic-inch V-8 under the hood, and got twin four-barrel Carter carburetors, bumping horsepower to 305 hp at 4700 RPM. Cadillacs with the regular, single four-barrel carb had 285 hp, but one could get the Eldo\u2019s twin carbs as an option for more power in a Series 62 or Coupe de Ville.<\/p>\n

\"1956Jayson Coombes<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always loved the \u201956s too, with its \u201cDagmar\u201d<\/a> front bumper bombs, twin shark fin hood ornament, and \u201cNineteen Fifty Six\u201d plaque in script on the right side of the instrument panel. I always gravitate to a \u201956 if I see one at a show. Even more so if it\u2019s an Eldorado like this one!<\/p>\n

\"1956Jayson Coombes<\/p>\n

As for the Eldorado Seville, it would continue as the hardtop Eldorado model through the 1960 model year\u2014the vinyl roof would continue all those years as well. But starting in 1961, the Eldo became just a convertible again\u2014at least until 1967 when an all-new front-wheel drive coupe would continue Cadillac\u2019s reputation as Standard of the World.<\/p>\n

\"1956Jayson Coombes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stay up to speed with stories written by drivers, for drivers. Get automotive news, DIY tips, market trends,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1678,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1409,1398,1410,1397,1408,109],"class_list":{"0":"post-1677","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-seville","8":"tag-1409","9":"tag-cadillac","10":"tag-clc","11":"tag-column","12":"tag-eldorado-seville","13":"tag-seville"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1677"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1677\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}