A Cadillac Seville Gucci, Forever Florida From 1979

Once in a blue moon, a vehicle surfaces that is so rare and special that it requires commemoration on the Internet. Such a vehicle appeared at auction last week, so we’re suspending our Wagoneer coverage today and returning to the original style of the Rare Rides series: cover of a singular vehicle. Stopping us in our tracks was an immaculate 1979 Cadillac Seville Gucci.

Imports of European luxury goods were a big problem for American luxury manufacturers beginning in the early 1970s. As the quality of American cars declined, European automakers simultaneously began to increase their footprint on American soil. European cars offered alternative styling to American barges and achieved better fuel economy while offering increasing prestige.

This greater prestige was also found in a smaller package. Younger buyers are increasingly rejecting their parents’ 225-inch demands, opting for smaller luxury cars. European options cost more than their American counterparts, but above a certain income threshold, this difference no longer matters.

From that point on, younger buyers gravitated toward imported vehicles, a trend that has continued for over 60 years now. In the 1970s, Detroit’s luxury brands had no choice but to adapt. And one of the first of these adaptations was the Cadillac Seville. Launched in May 1975 (creatively, to increase sales) as a 1976 model, the Seville was Cadillac’s first midsize car.

The basis of the Seville was the X body, used by compact vehicles of GM’s smaller brands since 1961. In the 1970s, the In shorter wheelbase form, the platform became the F-body Camaro and Pontiac Firebird in 1967.

A few years later, Cadillac engineers took the 111-inch wheelbase of the ’70s X-body and stretched it to 114.3 inches to create the Seville’s “K-body.” The new K platform was exclusive to the Seville, although it used the same steering linkage and front suspension components as the X-body vehicles.

Under its square hood, the Seville used only Oldsmobile engines. Both engines measured 350 cubic inches (5.7 liters), available in regular V8 or craptastic diesel V8 guise. We covered the latter in detail in Abandoned History, four years ago now! Both motors were mated to the very robust three-speed THM-400.

Bill Mitchell wrote a design that needed to look modern, but still looks like a Cadillac. This was probably easier to achieve at the front than the rear, as the rear had to forgo the traditional Cadillac fins and vertical taillights. Inside, the look was also more modern, with contemporary ribbed (rather than upholstered) interiors and more restrained use of woodwork.

The more modern, minimal theme was lost over time, however, as in the late ’70s Cadillac leaned into Brougham with the Elegante package. An extremely expensive set of toppings in 1979, at $4,005 ($19,527 adjusted), was piled on top of the gingerbread. And despite being the smallest vehicle in the lineup, the Seville was already Cadillac’s most expensive model and toppled the Eldorado as the most prestigious vehicle. Immediately successful, it reached sales of nearly 57,000 units in 1978.

Its most successful year was also when the more expensive Seville variant was launched. A short era of collaboration between designers and automakers had dawned, and Lincoln led the charge with the Designer Edition Continental Mark V models. They were huge, extremely expensive, and very profitable. And one Italian wanted in on the action.

Aldo Gucci (1905-1990) considered the Cadillac Seville a prestigious luxury car and urged Cadillac to offer a special designer edition. He envisioned “another stone in the chain of Gucci’s success” and inquired with Cadillac. Cadillac agreed and a deal was made. Aldo worked directly with Cadillac on the design of the Seville special.

The resulting car was not a nationally distributed model and did not appear in the company brochure. Rather, it was a limited run of built examples of cars, created by International Automotive Design in Miami. They were available only from a dealership in Miami, Braman Cadillac (still in business today). The model was debuted at the Fontainebleau Resort in Miami in 1978 by Aldo himself.

At $19,900 ($106,033 adj.), it was the most expensive Cadillac available and wrapped in Gucci in every way possible. The company’s intertwined G monogram was everywhere, along with its intertwined logo, script logo, horsebit logo, and traditional shield logo. Above all, the logos were gold plated.

The exterior wore a Gucci hood ornament instead of a Cadillac ornament. The wheel logos have also been changed. Custom pinstripes on the back in the company’s traditional red and green tones were decorated with gold GUCCI lettering. The rear carried a Gucci monogram fabric car roof, with gold shield logos. In the trunk was a set of five pieces of luggage custom-made for the car, which would have covered a good portion of the price of entry.

Inside, there were more monograms on the headrests, armrests, seats, pillars and headliner. Gucci logos abounded on the steering wheel, dashboard, pillars, door panels, and there was a red and green stripe embroidered on the floor mats. It was excessive and fit the timeline of the late 70s perfectly.

The final year of the original Seville was 1979, as well as the Gucci version. It is estimated that 200 to 300 special copies were produced. The world moved on from extreme automotive chintz soon after, and the Gucci Seville seemed dated very quickly. As a result, they were not kept as collectibles and were often neglected and poorly maintained.

This is where our stunning Rare Ride comes in, one of perhaps two or three that remain in excellent condition. All trim, badges, materials and even the monogrammed headliner are intact. As a metallic brown, it is the least selected of the colors available (black, white). And perhaps most unusual is that it was specified with the Oldsmobile diesel engine. The photo of the Gucci logo with the gold bit on the wing with “Seville” and “DIESEL” is a complete anachronism.

This stunning Seville was sold at auction in Indianapolis last week for an undisclosed amount. The only incompleteness comes from the missing luggage set. The Seville should surely be added to a museum collection and driven sparingly. A complete time capsule like we will never see again. Add the link to all these photos to your favorites or save them to your files!

[Images: seller, GM]

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