The year 1931 is considered by many as the apogee of Cadillacs of the Classic Era. The GM division introduced a new V-12 series to fill the gap between the V-8 and the V-16. The “Standard of the World” was hardly an understatement among luxury marques with offerings of 134-, 140- and 143-inch wheelbases, bodies by Fisher and Fleetwood, three different engine configurations, and the more moderately priced LaSalle as part of its lineup. This was the beginning of a trend that eventually led to Cadillac’s domination of the luxury car field in terms of sales. But the worsening Depression was taking its toll, as the sales of all luxury cars was down dramatically.

The new V-12s sold surprisingly well, but at the expense of the larger V-16. The V-8 Cadillacs arrived in dealer’s showrooms in September, with V-12s arriving one month later. Both were catalogued in a choice of 12 Fisher-bodied models, as well as 10 semi-custom Fleetwood-bodied models. A V-12 Roadster, piloted by Cadillac’s test chief, Willard Radar, paced the Indianapolis 500 race in the Memorial Day Classic.

The beautiful Cadillac offered here was once part of the Imperial Palace Collection in Las Vegas. It was sold in 1991 and then underwent a full restoration some years later, after which it was prominently pictured on pages 10–11 of the book Vintage and Classic Auto Images: 70 Years of Car Design Evolution by Tom Brewitz. In May 2004, the Cadillac was purchased by the present owner, a noted Midwestern collector who began an exhaustive, four-year-long, body-off restoration to original condition, with the goal of correcting numerous small errors made in the earlier restoration. Much of the work was performed by Bob Lorkowski, of L’CARS Automotive Specialties in Cameron, Wisconsin, which has numerous national award winners to its credit.

Completed in October 2010, this CCCA Full Classic is offered with shop and owner’s manuals, as well as a 1926–1931 Fisher Body Service Manual for closed body models. It includes a restored, original Cadillac accessory trunk and folding rack, and it is equipped with Senior Trippe driving lights. A previous owner described the V-12 engine as being “flawless, and it runs and drives exceedingly well.”

The car has not been shown since the completion of the restoration, allowing the new owner to debut it at the next CCCA, AACA, or CLC meet. Why not here at Hershey?