1938–1941
For 1938, the Harley Earl- Bill Mitchell designed Sixty Special was added between Cadillac's lowest-priced line of cars, the " Series 60", and the "Senior" large-bodied Cadillacs and it replaced the Series 65. Although all first-generation 60 Specials were built at the Fleetwood Plant, the 60 Special was marketed as a Fisher Body car in 1938 and 1939. The new four-door sedan, designed to look like a convertible sedan, showcased trend-setting features including a completely integrated, coupe-like trunk (which launched "three-box" sedan styling); no running boards (which all makes soon followed); convertible-style doors with bright metal window frames (Bill Mitchell called the '38 60 Special "the first hardtop"); a "four-window" canopy with more glass area than any Cadillac before; a steeply-raked windshield and four front-hinged doors. Contrary to what was then prevailing practice for luxury automobiles, the new Sixty Special was intended as an owner-driven car, rather than a chauffeur-driven one.Odin, L.C. ''World in Motion 1939 - The whole of the year's automobile production''. Belvedere Publishing, 2015. ASIN: B00ZLN91ZG. It was built on a wheelbase - longer than the standard Series 60 cars. The new Sixty Special utilized a unique "X" frame underneath, which allowed the . car to sit within its frame. This not only gave the new Cadillac the stiffest chassis on the market, but it was also 3 inches lower than other Cadillacs - with no sacrifice in headroom. The disappearance of running boards along the side and its lack of a heavy belt line molding made the sleek car appear even lower. More important, it allowed shoulder and hip room to increase by over 5 inches without an increase in overall width. When combined with the brand-new column-mounted shift lever, the cars offered true six passenger comfort. The Sixty Special was powered by Cadillac's standard ,1942, 1946-1947
The completely new Sixty Special for 1942 was longer and lower than the 1941 model, and now riding an exclusive wheelbase of , longer than any other non-limousine Cadillac. This marked the beginning of what would become a central characteristic of the Sixty Special. For 28 of the next 34 model years of its existence the Sixty Special would feature a uniquely stretched GM C-Body with noticeably greater legroom and headroom. Through 1948, Cadillac advertised the Sixty Special as a five-passenger car. The new design was more streamlined and less upright in appearance versus its predecessor, featuring "pontoon" fenders front and rear; this was the year that the bumper "bullets" were introduced which would remain a Cadillac styling feature through 1958. The unique, separate bright metal window frames were dropped in favor of bright metal window surrounds on conventional style doors. The slow-selling Sunshine Roof (sun roof) option was discontinued at the end of the 1941 model year, and would not reappear in a Cadillac until the 1970 Eldorado. Rear compartment wood-grained door caps now blended into a fixed rear bulkhead just behind the front seat (on all vehicles with or without a glass partition), emphasizing front and rear compartment separation. While the model-specific interior was luxuriously outfitted, Cadillac largely depended on trim to differentiate the exterior of Sixty Special from the shorter but similarly styled Series 62 Touring Sedan. Decorative chrome louvers - which would become a Sixty Special trademark ornament for years to come - were mounted in three locations on the 1942 model: behind the wheel well openings on the front and rear fenders, as well as mounted on the roof behind the rear door opening. In addition to the louvered trim, the Sixty Special had a wider "C-pillar" than other models. Just two variants were now available in the Sixty Special series – the standard sedan priced at $2,435 and a $2,589 Imperial sedan which featured an electrically adjustable glass partition between the front and rear seats. Productions totals include 1,684 standard sedans and an additional 190 Imperial sedans. Because of1948–1949
Nearly every model was redesigned for 1948, including the $3,820 Sixty Special. With all-new sheet metal, but still riding an exclusive 133-inch wheelbase, the luxurious Sixty Special weighed in at 4,370 pounds shipping weight (over 4,500 pounds curb weight). Inside, window lifts and a two-way adjustable bench seat with hydro-electric assist were standard equipment; the system utilized a central electrically driven pump that provided pressurized fluid to hydraulic cylinders attached to the seat and window regulators. A clever rainbow-shaped instrument cluster which put all the gauges directly above the steering column in front of the driver was used for 1948 only, while a new curved dashboard design added to passenger roominess. The roof-mounted decorative chrome louvers and individually framed side door glass (a Sixty Special design element since 1938) were carried over to this latest model as well. With trim inspired by the Lockheed1950–1953
Throughout the 1950s, the Sixty Special would continue as a stretched and optioned-up version of the Cadillac Series 62, but lost the1954–1956
All 1954 Cadillacs wore new sheet metal, but unfortunately the $4,683 Sixty Special still looked too much like its lower-priced sibling ($ in dollars ), the Series 62. Wheelbase for Sixty Special was back up to – where it had been in 1949. Refined power steering, from Saginaw, became standard equipment, along with electric windshield washers. New options included a four-way electrically power bench seat, and power brakes from Bendix. As they had been doing since its introduction in 1949, Cadillac was able to pull more power out of its engine, and now it was rated at 230. The eight chrome trim louvers moved lower onto the rear doors, back where they were in 1952. Sales dropped to 16,200 this year – down from 20,000 in 1953. Sixty Special arrived with revised trim and more power (, to be exact) for 1955, and while the $4,342 price was lower than last year, production rose slightly to 18,300 units. The eight chrome louvers – mounted on the lower rear doors since 1950, were replaced by 12 louvers mounted just ahead of the bumper on the rear fenders. Chrome rocker panel moldings – taller than the ones used on Series 62s - stretched from the back of the rear wheel well to the rear bumper. A new grille held a bold eggcrate design, while the rear roof support fashioned a delicate Florentine curve – this design was also shared with the lower-rung Series 62. In back, six vertical chrome louvers were mounted on the panel below the trunk lid – three spaced on each side of the license plate mounting. The tinted band across the windshield header changed from green to gray this year. A new option, the remote control trunk release, debuted this year. 1956 was the last year for the knobby, P-38 inspired tail fins on the rear of most Cadillacs, including the $4,587 Sixty Special. While the Cadillac division broke records by surpassing 150,000 units, Sixty Special slipped to an even 17,000 this year. Revamped trim included Cadillac crests on the front fenders, and a new grille (with a finer eggcrate design from last year) bearing a Cadillac script emblem, mounted at an angle, on the driver's side. Sixty Special script appeared on the front fenders below the Cadillac crest for the first time in the series history. Rear fenders held a chrome bead running along the top, while massive chrome spears with hash marks replaced the 1955's delicate chrome louvers on the rear sides. This chrome side trim morphed into the oval exhaust ports in the redesigned rear bumper. An anodized gold grille was optionally available on Sixty Special, while power brakes became standard equipment. New for 1956 was a larger powerplant producing combined with a revamped automatic transmission. Sabre Spoke wheels - standard on Eldorado - became available for Sixty Special, while inside, passenger seatbelts appeared on the option list.1957–1958
Cadillac introduced its first production four-door hardtop, the Sedan DeVille, in 1956. When Cadillac redesigned all of its standard models for 1957, the Sixty Special adopted the pillarless design as well. Priced at a hefty $5,539 ($ in dollars ), the (shipping weight) Sixty Special production reached an impressive 24,000 units - a sales plateau that the nameplate would never achieve again. The chrome fender louvers, a Sixty Special trademark since 1942, were gone in favor of a giant ribbed metallic panel that occupied the entire lower half of the rear fender. The Sixty Special script was located to the top of the rear fin for 1958, and the word "Fleetwood" was spelled out in block lettering across the trunklid. Engineering treats included moving the optional air conditioning unit from the trunk to a space under the hood, and a foot-operated parking brake that released when the car was put in gear. The engine introduced last year was now bumped up to . In spite of all-new sheet metal on the 1957 models, much of Cadillac's attention was focused on the new limited production Eldorado Brougham. This new four-door model did not pose a threat to Sixty Special production, since the new Brougham was a hand-built, limited-production specialty model with a stupendously steep $13,074 price tag ($ in dollars ) – more than double a new Sixty Special. Power windows and brakes were standard. A pre-selector radio was optional. 1958 saw extensive design changes, even though the cars were entirely revamped for 1957. Horsepower from the engine was now at . Sparkling "studs" decorated the wide new grille, while the rubber-tipped bumper guards were moved further out towards the edges of the car – leaving a lower, wider look. Four headlights, a style that appeared on last year's Eldorado Brougham, were adopted for all Cadillacs, including the $6,117 Sixty Special. Full fender skirts practically hid the rear wheels from sight, and the massive ribbed stainless steel trim occupied the lower half of the rear fender. Small vent windows were added to Sixty Special's rear doors, and newly available power door locks were optional. This marked the last year that the Sixty Special would maintain a stretched GM C-Body until its return in the 1965 model year. The model year 1958 would also be the last that the Sixty Special script would actually appear anywhere on the car. Sales for the 4,930 pound (shipping weight) car slid to 12,900 units – nearly half of last year's production.1959–1960
In 1959, the memorable fins appeared on nearly all Cadillacs this year, including the Sixty Special. Now riding a -shorter wheelbase (), the -long Sixty Special continued as a pillarless hardtop with its own distinct moldings - including a side-mounted dummy air-scoop on the rear fender, and a thin chrome bead that ran from the front fender back to the rear bumper, and then forward again to the front wheel well. The fin-mounted tail lights pods (which were body-colored on lesser Cadillacs) were chromed. The engine provided . Air suspension, utilizing freon-filled shock absorbers, was optional on Sixty Special. Cadillac also advertised a new "Scientifically engineered" drainage system. Although the Sixty Special script was gone, the Fleetwood script remained, and since the only other Cadillac bodied by Fleetwood was the Series 75, for this and many other reasons, there was no confusing the Sixty Special with other Cadillacs. However a front fender-mounted cloisonne "Sixty Special" emblem would appear the following year and last through 1962. 1960 saw new (shorter) rear fins, and a cleaner side-trim design, as well as a rear "grille" design shared with Eldorado. The Sixty Special was also distinguished by a new front fender-mounted cloisonne "Sixty Special" emblem. Wheelbase remained , and the $6,233 price was the same as the 1959. New for 1960 was a standard vinyl roof covering, and the small chrome "louvers" returned (first seen in 1942, last seen in 1956) mounted on the rear fenders, just ahead of the tail lights. Power steering and brakes were standard.1961–1964
For 1961, Cadillac's Sixty Special received all-new sheet metal, with a crisp, limousine-like formal roofline and a mildly shorter wheelbase. The small decorative louvers were back, this time just ahead of the tail lights. Sales were up to 15,500 units. With the cancellation of the four-door Eldorado Brougham at the end of 1960, the 1961 Sixty Special now became the sedan companion to the Eldorado convertible. Power steering was standard. 1962's styling remained similar to 1961, and Sixty Special's fender louvers were moved up to the roof, directly behind the rear door opening. A revised grill up front, and a new trim panel below the rear deck lid rounded out the subtle changes. Sales slipped to 13,350 this year at a base price of $6,366. A power trunk lid pull down feature was an option. The heater was now standard. 1963 had all-new styling (on the same wheelbase), with a new mechanically streamlined 390 cu. in. engine producing the same of the previous generation of OHV Cadillac V8. Sixty Special shared its lack of body-side trim with Eldorado - appearing very clean and formal compared to standard Cadillac models. While the small decorative louvers continued on the C-pillar, a new Cadillac "wreath and crest" ornament was on the rear fender. The front fender-mounted "Sixty Special" emblem (which appeared for 1960) was gone. The formerly standard vinyl top had now become a $125 option on Sixty-Special. Price was down to $6,300, and sales were up slightly 14,000. Other than a slightly revamped grille and rear bumper, 1964 Sixty Special saw few exterior changes. The Cadillac wreath and crest ornament was moved to take the place of the C-pillar mounted louvers. The Sixty Special (and companion Eldorado convertible) featured almost no side trim, except for a wide rocker-sill molding which ran from the rear-edge of the front fender wheel well to the rear of the car. Engine displacement was enlarged to , and the venerable1965–1970
1965 featured all-new styling on a longer wheelbase, on a stretched GM C-body platform. The Sixty Special was now back to being a pillared sedan (the B-pillar had been absent since 1957). Also new for 1965 was the available "Brougham" option package, adding $194 to Sixty Special's base price of $6,479, which included padded grained-vinyl roof covering with "Brougham" badging on the C-pillar. 18,100 Sixty Specials were built for 1965. With Eldorado having joined the Sixty Special in 1963 as the only other non-limousine Cadillac bodied by Fleetwood, the addition of the Brougham script made things a little more consistent in nomenclature, for the Eldorado was originally only available as a convertible, and its later four-door sedan companion was denoted "Brougham". Also, Cadillac got rid of the X-frame and replaced it with a full-perimeter frame. Standard equipment now included a warning lamp in the instrument cluster indicating an unlatched trunk lid. Rear seat belts were also standard. With minor trim changes, in 1966 Cadillac offered buyers two models in this series: the standard Fleetwood Sixty Special (priced at $6,378) and the new Fleetwood Brougham ($6,695). The Brougham option package proved so popular the previous year it was made a separate model for 1966. The Fleetwood Brougham included a formal-looking vinyl roof covering, and luxurious appointments inside such as genuine walnut trim and, for rear seat passengers, lighted writing tables (through 1967), foot rests, and reading lamps. This was the last year that the Sixty Special would serve as a body-sharing companion to the Eldorado convertible, as the 1967 Eldorado moved to front-wheel drive and all-new sheet metal. The new Sixty Special Brougham sold over 13,630 copies, surpassing the standard Sixty Special which sold only 5,445. Cadillacs had all-new styling in 1967, but the Sixty-Special continued with an exclusive wheelbase. The $6,739 Sixty Special Brougham continued to outsell the $6,423 Sixty Special - 12,750 units versus 3,550. AM/FM radio was a $188 option. 1968 featured mostly carry-over styling from 1967, but the hood was longer this year, as it extended all the way to the base of the windshield to cover the "hidden" windshield wipers. Also new for 1968 was a stylish beveled deck lid. The $6,867 vinyl-roofed Sixty Special Brougham sold 15,300 models this year, while the standard Sixty Special with its painted metal roof (priced at $6,552) sold just 3,300 cars. Most Cadillac buyers clearly considered the $315 price difference insignificant. All-new styling appeared in 1969, and the two Sixty Special models had distinct rooflines from the other Cadillacs. A 60/40 split bench seat was standard in the Sixty Special Brougham, optional in Sixty Special. Safety was a new priority at Cadillac, which introduced a new steering column that not only was designed to absorb impact and collapse in a collision, but also had new Federally-mandated theft-deterrent features such as an ignition key switch activated steering wheel and transmission shifter lock mechanism. As also mandated, head rests were standard on front seats, while seat belts were provided for all six passengers. The engine carried over from 1968. Also of note this year was the disappearance of the small vent windows on the front and rear doors. Sixty Special Brougham, at $7,092, included a vinyl roof top (available in six colors), as well as rear-seat foot rests and an automatic level control for the rear wheels which kept the car level despite the weight of fuel, passengers, or cargo. Sixty Special Brougham's sales of 17,300 units easily surpassed the 2,545 copies of the standard $6,761 Sixty Special. The 1970 Sixty Special received few changes, aside from the usual new grille and tail lamps. Sixty Special had long been recognized for its bold, bare side body, but this year the models received a 'chrome with vinyl insert'1971–1976
The new GM full-size bodies for 1971, at 64.3 inches front shoulder room (62.1 inches on Cadillac) and 63.4 inches rear shoulder room (64.0 inches on Cadillac) set a record for interior width that would not be matched by any car until the full-size GM rear-wheel-drive models of the early to mid-1990s. Following this remodel, the Sixty Special remained basically unchanged through 1976, save for periodic front and rear-end facelifts. The car shared the same styling cues with the lesser Calais and DeVille models. The most dramatic of these changes was the addition of rectangular headlamps in 1975 along with a completely new grille. This configuration was carried through until 1977's dramatic downsizing, marking the temporary end of all full-size Cadillacs except for the Eldorado. For 1971, the lineup was trimmed down to just one Sixty Special model, the Sixty Special Brougham. It still rode on an exclusive wheelbase, but with all-new sheet metal and a distinctive roof design. The formal new roof was clearly reminiscent of Bill Mitchell's original 1938 Sixty Special, with individually framed, rounded-corner side glass (outlined by a thin chrome bead). Also new on the vinyl top were C-pillar mounted opera lamps and a thick B-pillar, which, along with a narrow body filler panel between the front and rear side doors, heightened the car's custom limousine look. Despite the formal new look and higher levels of luxury, sales dropped slightly from 1970, down to 15,200 units. As before, while the coupe and sedan DeVille remained Cadillac's bread-and-butter cars, the Sixty Special was an exclusive low-volume item sold to its most affluent buyers and the fleet and livery business for conversion to formal limousines and airport cars. Engine performance began to decrease with EPA restrictions on tailpipe emissions and grams per mile emissions requirements, forcing gear ratios to taller and taller ratios, dropping to as low as 2.73:1 for 1975-1976. A new common frame/suspension design was introduced in the latest generation Sixty Special which was also used in other GM full size cars. While the other GM divisions used a front-steer setup (steering linkage in front of the engine crossmember), all Cadillac RWDs retained the 1961-vintage front suspension (rear steering linkage, eccentric cams in the steering knuckle in lieu of shims, strut rods attached to the framerails for caster adjustment). Rear suspensions were now driven by the Pontiac-designed -inch ring-gear 10-bolt Salisbury live axle. A new trailer towing package was added allowing larger trailer loads to be pulled. Coupled with heavy duty cooling, 3.23 gearing, high output 80 amp large frame alternator and heavy-duty THM400 transmission, the long wheelbase was ideal to pull trailers weighing up to 7,000 lb (3,200 kg). 1972 marked Cadillac's 70th anniversary. One of the few changes that year was the addition of a chrome molding around the rear window. Sales were a robust 20,750 units at a base price of $7,585. The 1972 Sixty Special Brougham weighed in at an impressive 4,858 pounds shipping weight (over 5,000 pounds curb weight). Standard equipment included rear-seat reading lamps, automatic level control, and dual-comfort front seats. A wide range of upholstery was available in nine colors of "Sierra" grain leather, four colors of "Matador" cloth, a combination of "Matador" cloth and leather, a "Minuet" fabric in three colors, or a plush "Medici" crushed velour. The 1974 model year saw the introduction of the "Air Cushion Restraint System", which activatedFleetwood Brougham d'Elegance
An option package available for the first time in 1973 was the "d'Elegance" package. Adding US$750, this package included a unique "pillow-style" velour seating trim as well as a more plush carpeting and a few additional features optional on the standard models. The same package was offered on the Coupe/Sedan DeVille models in 1974 with a different seating design. The package would become available on various DeVille, Fleetwood Brougham, Brougham, and Fleetwood models in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s with standard features adjusted to suit the decades.Fleetwood Talisman
Even more exclusive than the "d'Elegance" was the "Talisman" package, available for the 60 Special for the 1974, 1975, and 1976 model years. A ''talisman'' is "anything whose presence exercises a remarkable or powerful influence on human feelings or actions". The package was so exclusive that it superseded both the "Brougham" and "d'elegance" luxury designations. For 1974 the interior featured a center console spanning the entire interior, with the front section housing a writing tablet and the rear a storage space. This seating arrangement turned the spacious Fleetwood Brougham into a four-seat automobile, which possibly led to the discontinuation of the rear seat console in the 1975/76 editions. Seating was initially available in four colors of either leather ($2450) or "Medici" crushed velour ($1800), with the leather dropped after 1974. Matching deep-pile interior carpeting and floormats completed the look. The exterior featured a standard fully padded elk grain vinyl roof, exterior badge identifications, and a stand-up, full-color wreath and crest hood ornament.1987–1993
The Sixty Special returned in 1987 as the top owner-driven Cadillac in the front-wheel-drive GM C-body lineup, with a planned production run of just 2,000 cars. This two-year only model for 1987-88 was officially named Fleetwood Sixty Special and were custom-crafted — featuring a five-inch (127 mm) longer wheelbase over the DeVille/Fleetwood on which they were based. Similarly equipped to the standard-size Fleetwood d'Elegance, the Fleetwood Sixty Special also included an anti-lock braking system (a $925 Fleetwood option) and a stainless-steel exhaust system not available on other Cadillacs. In 1987, the Sixty Special carried a base price of $34,850 ($ in dollars ) - more than $8,700 over the price of the Fleetwood d'Elegance. The price dropped by $100 for 1988. With their longer wheelbase, the Sixty Special was suitable to be owner- or chauffeur-driven. In addition to 5 inches of extra rear seat leg room, they included dual rear-seat headrests, three-position footrests (mounted onto the backs of the 55/45 split front seat) and two illuminated vanity mirrors located in an overhead console. A padded vinyl roof concealed the metal seams underneath, where additional roof structure was added — and carried over onto the elongated rear doors. Similarly, door sill plates and wide, ribbed lower body side moldings concealed the body joinery at the rocker panel. The model names were potentially confusing for consumers, with Cadillac renaming the previous rear-wheel drive ("D-body") "Fleetwood" to simply "Brougham". For 1989, the Sixty Special (no longer a "Fleetwood" sub-model) lost its exclusive longer wheelbase, and it now shared the same wheelbase with the DeVille and Fleetwood. The Sixty Special now had a lower base price of $34,230. When the Fleetwood nameplate was restored to the large rear-wheel-driveReferences
{{Cadillac Vehicles 60 Motor vehicles manufactured in the United States Cars introduced in 1938 Limousines