Cadillac's famous tailfins didn't start as a styling flourish — this 1948 Series 61 wore them first, modeled directly on a WWII fighter plane.
Lead trim: Series 61 331 cu in OHV V8 (1950–1951)
Cadillac Series 611948–1951
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Cadillac Series 61 yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactCadillac's famous tailfins didn't start as a styling flourish — this 1948 Series 61 wore them first, modeled directly on a WWII fighter plane.
The formerly smaller Series 61 was moved to the Series 62's GM C-body platform for 1948 and 1949 (very similar to the Series 62), with GM's first all-new postwar body featuring tailfins inspired by the Lockheed P-38, an eggcrate grille higher in the middle than on the sides and a heavier bumper bar; cars in the 61 series lacked bright metal front fender shields and under-taillight trim. The big 1949 news was the new 331 cu in (5.4 L) overhead-valve V8 producing 160 hp (the 1948 cars kept the 346 Monobloc). For 1950 Cadillacs had extensive styling changes (low sleek contours, longer rear decks, more sweeping front fenders and a broken rear fender line ending in a swooping tailfin) and the Series 61 returned to the shorter B-body than used on the Series 62 (4 inches shorter than the previous season, with no rear window ventipanes and a wraparound backlight on the sedan, and no rocker panel moldings); 1951 brought a minor face lift with miniature eggcrate grilles and bullet-shaped bumper guards and a new medallion on the rear roof pillar. Dimensions: wheelbase 126.0 in (1948–49) and 122.0 in (1950–51), 214.0 in and 211.8 in long, width 79.0 in (1948), 78.9 in (1949) and 80.1 in (1950–51), 62.7 in high, 4,000–4,400 lb. Briggs Cunningham brought two Series 61 DeVilles to the 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans: the modified "Le Monstre" finished 11th (Cunningham got stuck in the sand for 30 minutes) and the essentially stock "Petit Petaud" coupe 10th; a 1939 Series 61 convertible was used to represent the Batmobile in the 1943 Batman film serial.
Collectors Spotted in the Cadillac Series 61 Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Cadillac Series 61 yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
3 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series 61 331 cu in OHV V8 (160 hp, 1949) | 1949–1949 | 5.4 L V8 | 160 hp | 312 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Series 61 331 cu in OHV V8 (1950–1951) | 1950–1951 | 5.4 L V8 | 160 hp | 312 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Series 61 346 cu in Monobloc V8 (1948) | 1948–1948 | 5.7 L V8 | — | — | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
Cadillac's famous tailfins didn't start as a styling flourish — this 1948 Series 61 wore them first, modeled directly on a WWII fighter plane.
Wartime rationing changed this Series 61 mid-run: from January 1942 chrome trim was banned, so cars built from then until February had their bumpers and trim painted instead of plated.
The Series 61 briefly vanished -- upgraded into the Series 62 for 1940 -- then came back for 1941, revived to replace Cadillac's own cancelled LaSalle Series 50.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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