For one year only, the 1948 Sixty Special had a rainbow-shaped instrument cluster stacking every gauge directly above the steering column.
Lead trim: Sixty Special 346 cu in V8 (1948) · up to 160 hp
Cadillac Sixty Special1948–1949
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Cadillac Sixty Special 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.
FactFor one year only, the 1948 Sixty Special had a rainbow-shaped instrument cluster stacking every gauge directly above the steering column.
The 1948 Sixty Special, nearly every model redesigned, was the first all-new postwar design with trim inspired by the Lockheed P-38 Lightning (simulated side-scoops and tail fins resembling the P-38's vertical stabilizers), on a 133.0 in wheelbase, 226.0 in long, 78.2 in wide and 62.7 in high (4,300–4,500 lb). 1949 brought new power in the form of the 331 cu in (5.4 L) OHV V8, a short-stroke, high-compression design offering quiet, economical operation and smooth, high performance: smaller and shorter than its predecessor, it was 10 hp more powerful and 188 pounds lighter, and was used through the 1955 model year with near-annual improvements. The 1949 model also had a new, wider and more substantial grille. The 1948 model kept the 346 cu in V8.
Collectors Spotted in the Cadillac Sixty Special Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Cadillac Sixty Special yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
2 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sixty Special 331 cu in OHV V8 (1949) | 1949–1949 | 5.4 L V8 | 160 hp | 312 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Sixty Special 346 cu in V8 (1948) | 1948–1948 | 5.7 L V8 | 150 hp | — | — | 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 priciest Sixty Special option wasn't called "Brougham" or "d'Elegance" — it was the "Talisman," named after the word for a magic charm, and it outranked both of those trims.
For 1965 the Sixty Special brought back a B-pillar it had gone without since 1957 — trading its hardtop look for a formal, pillared sedan profile.
This Sixty Special went nearly bare-sided on purpose — it shared the Eldorado's stripped-down lack of body trim instead of the chrome standard Cadillacs wore.
The 1959 Sixty Special's rear-fender air scoop never breathed a drop of air — it was pure decoration, a one-year-only styling flourish bolted on for the fins era and gone again after.
After fifteen years as its signature look, the Sixty Special's chrome fender louvers vanished for 1957 — swapped for a giant ribbed metal panel covering the whole lower rear fender.
This 1956 Sixty Special wore the last of the "knobby" tail fins styled after the P-38 Lightning fighter plane — Cadillac smoothed them out the very next year.
Cadillac's 100,000th car to roll off the line in 1950 wasn't a run-of-the-mill model — it was a Sixty Special, the brand's flagship.
For one year only, the 1948 Sixty Special had a rainbow-shaped instrument cluster stacking every gauge directly above the steering column.
Cadillac had a sunroof option before World War II — and then killed it for being slow-selling. The feature wouldn't return to a Cadillac for almost 30 years, until the 1970 Eldorado.
Designer Bill Mitchell called the 1938 Sixty Special 'the first hardtop,' even though it was technically a sedan. Its pillarless-look doors blurred the line years before real hardtops existed.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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