1930 Cadillac V16 Phaeton

General Motors decided to raise the stakes on the economic depression in 1930s with a sixteen-cylinder Cadillac, a technically clever thing to do in that it was possible to use the axle and gearbox of the cheaper V8 models, drivetrain components being sized by the torque impulse of one cylinder. A sixteen might have twice as many impulses, but each one was no stronger than pre-existing hardware could absorb. American folklore had it that two Buick cylinder heads were mounted on a crankcase with the cylinders in a 45-degree V. More likely, Cadillac engineers created the whole engine from scratch. It was a beautiful piece of work, with porcelain enamel on the castings and polished-alloy valve covers, and it provided enormous torque and power in relative silence. In the era before automatic transmissions or even syncromesh, it was considered desirable to change gear as little as possible, and the V16 would pull from very low speeds in top gear.

Many coachbuilders provided bodies for the V16, from in-house Fleetwood, to Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina. Yet no matter who built the body, no matter how elegant or ordinary its styling might be, a Cadillac V16 was a highly impressive motor car: giant of stature, smooth and silent in operation, and very quick for the period.

These extracts are taken from Auto Legends: Classics of Style and Design by Michel Zumbrunn, text by Robert Cumberford which was published in October by Merrell