High Rollers: Here’s Your Chance To Own One Of The First 1953 Cadillac Eldorado Convertibles

The 1953 Cadillac Eldorado began the start of a storied nameplate for the Cadillac brand that would last until the demise of the name in the early 2000s.

First introduced as an effort to promote GM design, the ‘53 Eldorado was debuted alongside the Oldsmobile 98 and Buick Roadmaster Skylark. The Eldorado was essential a limited production version of the 1952 El Dorado Golden Anniversary concept vehicle, with only 532 ever made in this first generation.

The car debuted with the iconic wrap-around windshield, and many exclusive luxury features including air conditioning. Although it was technically a variant of the Cadillac Series 62, and mimicked many features, it cost nearly twice as much. A brand new ’53 Eldorado Convertible set you back $7,750. Calculating for present day inflation, that’s almost $70,000.

Mecum will feature the example you see pictured above at the Rogers’ Classic Car Museum in late February, wearing factory Aztec Red paint, and outfitted with a 331 cubic-inch 221 hp Cadillac V8, paired to an automatic transmission. This example doesn’t have the factory A/C but it does come with a heater and defroster combo, matching a factory signal-seeking push button radio.

Mecum is estimating the value to be around $125,000 to $150,000, so be sure to watch for this early piece of Cadillac history.