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.
Median 85 hp across 139 similar cars
Lead trim: Sixty Special 365 cu in OHV V8 (300 hp, 1957) · up to 310 hp
Cadillac Sixty Special1957–1958
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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.
FactAfter 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.
The 1957–58 Sixty Special was a four-door hardtop on the 133 in wheelbase (224.4 in long in 1957 and 225.3 in in 1958, 80.0 in wide, 59.1 in high, 4,900–5,100 lb) with a 365 cu in (6.0 L) OHV V8 and 4-speed Hydra-Matic; power windows and brakes were standard and a pre-selector radio optional. The 365 engine introduced for 1956 was now bumped up to 300 hp for 1957, and to 310 hp in 1958 (extensive design changes with sparkling "studs" in the wide grille, bumper guards moved toward the edges and four headlights adopted for all Cadillacs). In 1958 the optional air conditioning moved from the trunk to under the hood and a foot-operated parking brake was released when the car was put in gear; the Sixty Special script sat atop the rear fin and "Fleetwood" was spelled out in block letters across the trunk lid. Much of Cadillac's attention in 1957 was on the new limited-production Eldorado Brougham, a hand-built four-door specialty model at US$13,074, more than double a new Sixty Special.
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 365 cu in OHV V8 (300 hp, 1957) | 1957–1957 | 6.0 L V8 | 300 hp | 400 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Sixty Special 365 cu in OHV V8 (310 hp, 1958) | 1958–1958 | 6.0 L V8 | 310 hp | 405 lb-ft | — | 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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