The Cadillac Le Mans was a concept car designed by Harley Earl and developed by Cadillac, shown at the 1953 General Motors Motorama in New York. It was a low, two-seat fibreglass roadster named after the French endurance race in which Cadillac had competed in 1950.
Cadillac Le Mans at a glance
| Maker | Cadillac, General Motors |
|---|---|
| Shown | 1953 General Motors Motorama, New York |
| Designer | Harley Earl |
| Body | two-seat roadster, fibreglass |
| Height | 51 in (1,300 mm) to the windshield frame |
| Length | 196 in (4,978 mm) |
| Engine | 331 cu in (5,420 cc) V8 |
| Power | 250 hp (186 kW) |
| First for Cadillac | wraparound windshield |
| Prototypes built | four |
| Production | none |
Based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on the Le Mans concept.
History of the Cadillac Le Mans
The Le Mans was named for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where Cadillac had raced in 1950. Displayed at the 1953 Motorama in New York, it was a low-profile roadster only 51 inches high to the windshield frame, with a fibreglass body and two seats. It showed Cadillac’s first wraparound windshield, a feature that reached production cars soon afterwards, and it was powered by a 250 hp version of Cadillac’s 331 cu in V8 – an output production Cadillacs did not reach until 1955. Overall length was 196 inches.
Four cars, three accounted for
Four prototypes were built, and the model never went into production. The fate of three is known. One car, customised by George Barris, was bought by the shoe manufacturer Harry Karl and given to his wife, the actress Marie “The Body” MacDonald; that car was destroyed in a fire in 1985. Another was sold to a Cadillac dealer in Beverly Hills and is displayed in the Cadillac Historical Collection in Warren, Michigan. A revised car, restyled by GM stylists with quad headlights and sleeker fins, belongs to the GM Heritage Center.
The missing car
The fourth Le Mans was shown at the Oil Progress Exhibition at Will Rogers Field in Oklahoma City in 1953, together with two other Motorama show cars, the Wildcat I and the Starfire, and then went on display at a Cadillac Chevrolet dealership in the same city in the first week of November. It went missing on 8 November 1953 and has not been seen since, despite the efforts of investigators and enthusiasts.
Design and features
- Wraparound windshield: the first on a Cadillac, and soon copied across the industry.
- Fibreglass body: a light two-seat roadster shell only 51 inches high.
- 250 hp V8: more than any production Cadillac of the time, matching the 1955 output.
- Show-car finish: a Motorama exhibit built to draw crowds rather than to be sold.
Cadillac Le Mans versions
- Original Motorama car: the 1953 show roadster.
- George Barris custom: a modified car destroyed by fire in 1985.
- Restyled version: quad headlights and sleeker fins, now in the GM Heritage Center.
- The missing car: lost in Oklahoma City in November 1953.
The Le Mans was a contemporary of the first Eldorado and of the Series 62; Cadillac’s later racing ambitions are covered in the Northstar LMP article. More Cadillacs are in the Cadillac collection.
Sources
- Cadillac Le Mans, English Wikipedia: design, engine, prototypes and their fate
