Bigger was better, and more was wonderful for Cadillac in the 1950s. That especially applied to headlamps, with quad headlamps—four across—appearing first on the El Camino and La Espada show cars of 1954 and then on the prototype Eldorado Brougham a year later. When the production Brougham arrived in 1957, it was the first Cadillac, and one of the first U.S. production cars, to boast quad headlamps, which were, at the time, not legal in all 50 states.

Sometime between the production of the 1954 show cars and the 1957 Brougham, Cadillac apparently tested the production quad headlamp design on a few, otherwise stock, 1956 Eldorados. At least three cars that were built with the quad headlights survive today, and since the modification is virtually the same on all three cars, it is likely that the change was made at the factory. Indeed, at least one factory photo of such an installation on a 1956 car has survived.

The car shown here is the only known 1956 Eldorado Seville hardtop with quad headlamps, and in addition to the headlamp treatment, it carries the window trim scheme of the 1956 Castilian show car and prototype 1957 Dagmar bumpers. It is stunning in black over white, with a matching leather interior, and it is equipped with power steering, brakes, windows, door locks, and seats, as well as gold sabre wheels. The original 365-cubic inch engine, with its dual four-barrel carburetors, is topped with the iconic bat wing air cleaner, and it runs well. This engine, coupled with the smooth-shifting Hydra-Matic transmission, makes this car a dream to drive.

This 1956 Cadillac offers the best of “dream car design,” and it is ahead of the crowd in a decade where nothing succeeded like excess.