During some of the toughest economic times experienced in America, Cadillac pushed forward an extensively revamped line-up of V-12 and V-16 engined cars for 1933. The “stylish functionality” of the 1920s began to give way to the stylized, streamlined look of the 1930s. Cars began to be designed by artists and designers rather than engineers. A face-lift that was simple in execution, but startling in effect. This design transformation started the concept of selling cars on the basis of styling features and selling replacement cars on styling changes alone. Featured were fully skirted, flowing fenders and a graceful “windsplit” vee’d grill, which boasted a painted shell that blended smoothly with the hood panels. The bumpers were sectioned with plain ends and three bar centers. The regulator cap was now found under the hood, and the side-panels now had six horizontal louvers instead of the vertical ones of the previous year.

In the 1930s, it was quite common for the elite to have more than one body for their most prized automobiles, a sedan body for those cold northern nights and an open body for the “Florida snowbird winters”. This car started life as a formal sedan, according to factory records, and now sports a flashier, open convertible coupe body with dual side-mounted covered spare tires with mirrors, dual Trippe-lights, Cadillac hot-water cabin heater, wire-wheels, wide white-wall tires and a rumble seat. This rare piece of automotive history can be seen in the Academy Award-winning film “Seabiscuit”.

With a limited number of cars powered by the V-12 engine, this 1933 Cadillac V-12 is a wonderful piece of automotive and cinematic history.

VIN FL12R347