BRIEF MANUFACTURER DETAILS AND SIGNIFICANT HISTORY OF CAR:

Welcome to the world of Italian American design philosophy at its finest. The time frame is the early 1980’s and Cadillac was looking for a car to compete with the likes of the Mercedes SL’s, Jags and so forth. So, the powers that be in Caddy Land got together with some former friends over in the Pininfarina Studios in Italy and after many conversations, a small roadster to be named Allante was born. The body was designed in Pininfarina Studios. A custom 747 was created to transport parts to Italy on what would be known as the longest assembly line in the world – 7,500 miles. Those parts would create the body and interior of the Allante and once assembled, 51 units would be carefully loaded on the same 747 and shipped back to Cadillac in Detroit for final assembly. There they would be married to an Allante specific power train and upon completed assembly and proper testing, shipped to various Cadillac dealerships.

This was no cheap effort on the part of Cadillac/GM, so they decided they had to start with something they already had. That would be the newly downsized Eldorado from which the dash and firewall were copied. It also had to be powered by what was already available so the not so famous 4.1-liter V8 would be slightly modified to increase horsepower and to fit under the newly sloping hood of this new car. It would come fully equipped with just about anything anyone could dream of – the only option being a then not so common car phone. It would be a convertible AND have a removable hardtop in addition to the soft top. The best leathers, electronics and whatever else would be put in this car.

When it hit the showrooms in the fall of 1986, as a 1987 model the Cadillac Allante was not necessarily the success they’d hoped for. They were underpowered and the fit and finish of body and interior parts wasn’t always what it should have been. Also, they were from Europe – not the “traditional” Cadillac.

The biggest complaint besides the power was the lack of a power convertible top – they were almost totally manual aside from a rear pull-down motor used to close the rear section. For a cost of over $50,000.00 per car, a Cadillac owner felt he or she should be able to simply push a button. In 1989 Cadillac started modifying the problem areas. The engine was enlarged to 4.5 liters and horsepower was increased, thus improving performance. The standard hard top became an option because of its cost and people had said they really didn’t’ need both. In the middle of 1990, the phase two body was introduced, which meant some differences in the interior, top tonneau covers and equipment. The car now came with BOSE Symphony Sound, a cassette player AND the first CD player to be standard in an American car. Prices now approached $60K, but the cars were slowly finding a following.

Phase Three came in the 1993 model year which was also the largest in sales volume. The ’93 was also the Pace Car for the 1992 Indianapolis 500 and required very few modifications – the most noticeable being an integrated roll bar. Most ‘93s were built in 1992 as had GM announced after making numerous modifications including the addition of the Northstar V8, that the car would not be produced beyond the 1993 model year. Toward the end of the run the 1993s were being assembled with whatever parts were left even if they were visibly different, or from another year. The last Allante was built in June of 1993. One problem with the ’93 is that the newly designed Northstar engine had definite issues of its own.

The 93 Alante’s which were built in 92 were prone to catastrophic engine failure. GM replaced the engines but evidently, they didn’t keep good records of which cars got those engines. Still the ‘93s are popular with collectors today.

BRIEF STORY OF THIS PARTICULAR VEHICLE:

The car you are looking at is “Luigi” – a two-owner 1991. Luigi was originally purchased in Boston at R. H. Long Cadillac and eventually moved to Naples where my wife and I purchased him in April 2022 with 55,000 miles and currently has just under 61,000. Luigi currently resides in Rockledge, FL. The folks at Allante Source in West Palm Beach have overseen his maintenance needs for close to 25 years and in the Winter of 2024, oversaw a Frame On Restoration. A few things are still in work, but in April of this year Luigi received his AACA First Junior at the Spring Nationals in Charlotte. He’ll be trying for his AACA Senior in the next few months.