The year was 1932. As the Great Depression raged into its worst year and Franklin Roosevelt entered the White House, Cadillac’s top-of-the-line V-16 greeted renewed optimism with renewed styling. The massive motor car boasted the same 452-cubic inch engine as in 1930 and 1931, with relatively few mechanical changes. Outside, however, the car looked fresh and sporty, thanks to a lengthened hood, lowered rooflines, curvaceous fenders, and more streamlined headlamp shells. The result was a car that carried the visual impact of a locomotive and looked every bit its performance and its price—respectively, 165 horsepower and about the cost of a new house.

Understandably, few remained willing or able to afford the sumptuous V-16, and only 300 are believed to have been produced in 1932. Then, as now, they were elite and scarce, a rolling status symbol announcing not only the owner’s fine tastes, but also his or her ability to indulge them.

The Five-Passenger Sedan offered here is documented by its original build sheet, a copy of which is on file, as having been ordered in February 1932 by the Cadillac Auto Company of Boston, Massachusetts, built a month later, and delivered later that spring. It remained on the East Coast for many years, including ownership by Terrence Teodori of New Jersey in 1988. Later it became part of a prominent collection of CCCA Full Classics in Northern Ohio, and in that ownership it underwent a complete restoration back to its original condition between 2007 and 2014. The body was returned to its original color scheme of Viceroy Maroon Dark with a beautifully and correctly tailored broadcloth interior. With the work completed and detailed in its current ownership, the car is truly spectacularly detailed and stunning in every way, and it would be an ideal addition to any collection of great Cadillacs.

Cadillac was at the top of the heap in 1932, and the V-16 was the pinnacle of Cadillac’s offerings. The legendary V-16 has lost none of its respect or authority and still reigns supreme as one of the most well-known Cadillacs ever built. A CCCA Full Classic, it is eligible for numerous events and in the present condition, it is sure to perform well both on show and tour.