Cadillac pushed the boat out when launching the Allanté in 1987. The luxurious vehicle brought together a renowned designer and coachbuilder with solid American mechanical know-how. Due to its high sticker price, it never sold in the company’s projected volumes. This Allanté is from the final production year, and its condition is as stunning as you would rightly expect from a vehicle with under 25,000 miles on the clock. It needs a new home, with the owner listing it here on Barn Finds Classifieds in Georgetown, Texas.
This 1993 Allanté presents beautifully in Verde Flex (Teal). It is 1-of-150 examples produced in that shade, making it one of the rarest of an already rare breed. Its presentation is impossible to fault, with the paint shining beautifully and no flaws or defects. The panels are laser straight, with gaps as tight and consistent as you would rightly expect from a handbuilt classic. Although it has spent much of its life in Texas, the plastic has avoided UV damage, suggesting it has led a sheltered existence. The Black power top is flawless, with the car featuring a custom hardtop that is excellent. Cadillac only offered a few options for Allanté buyers, with this car featuring distinctive factory chrome wheels that added an eye-watering $1,195.00 to the sticker price. Considering its overall condition, it is easy to see why this Cadillac has accumulated three Best of Class Awards.
Luxury cars deserve luxury interiors, and this Allanté gets the ball rolling with supple Natural Beige leather. Its condition is all you would expect from a cherished low-mileage classic. There is no wear or evidence of abuse and no aftermarket additions. The Texas sun hasn’t impacted the plastic, and the carpet is spotless. Fitting the hardtop brings a felt headliner if the power top or the wind-in-the-hair motoring experience isn’t appealing at any point. The list of luxury and safety appointments is as long as your arm, including a driver’s airbag, climate-control air conditioning, power windows, power locks, six-way power seats, a Driver Information Center, cruise control, a Twilight Sentinel, power exterior mirrors, an auto-dimming interior mirror, a rear defogger, a premium AM/FM radio/cassette/CD player, a leather-wrapped tilt wheel, and a power trunk release and pull-down.
One of the most significant changes to the Allanté for 1993 could be found under the hood. The previous 4.5-liter V8 made way for the new “Northstar” powerplant. This fuel-injected 32-valve gem brought 295hp and 290 ft/lbs of torque to the party. It fed to the road via a four-speed 4T80-E automatic transmission. Considering the car’s luxury leanings, power steering, ABS, and traction control were standard features. Although most buyers weren’t fixated on outright performance, the 3,752 lb Allanté delivered handsomely. It could cover the ¼-mile in 15.2 seconds, with the Northstar running out of breath at 157mph. The seller has been this classic’s custodian for a decade, purchasing it with 9,000 miles on the clock. They haven’t tried to wear it out, with the odometer now reading 24,695 genuine miles. It comes with all of its relevant documentation, plus some dealer literature. It runs and drives perfectly, ready to hit the road with a new owner behind the wheel.
Many theories have been proposed to explain why the Cadillac Allanté was not the sales success the company sought. There is probably no single factor responsible, but a number combined to seal a great classic’s fate. Although the program was theoretically sound, the production costs were hideously expensive. That forced the company to market the car at a higher sticker price than anticipated. Adding to the problem, the Allanté was considered too radical for typical Cadillac buyers and too expensive for traditional sports car buyers. This was a shame because the Allanté was an essentially excellent product by its final build year. This one is a gem, and if a luxury Convertible has always been your dream, this could be your ideal car.
I guess its free?
Beautiful color! And I’m glad this owner has added miles to it while keeping it in tip top shape.
Agree Todd. Perfect cruiser for the Florida Gulf Coastlines. And a Country Club for some golf ⛱️ ⛳️
Nice car, and it’s been well cared for. Like many Italian cars, these did not stand up well to neglect, particularly inside.
As for why the Allante failed, I blame the front-wheel-drive chassis, the troublesome convertible top, and the production process that seems to have been designed to be expensive. Flying 56 bodies at a time from Turin to Detroit in specially fitted 747s? The “Air Bridge” reportedly added $5000 to the cost of each car.
$63,000 in 1993. I’m guessing price killed this model
By 93, they got these right. And this one is beautiful. I used to say these were very undervalued, then when I started looking at them, many were beat to death by the time they were affordable. Not so with this one – it will likely go for all the money, and rightfully so.
Typical GM, finally gets a car right only to promptly kill it off.
No price?
I think these were a very underrated car. Even the Allantes you see in the junkyard are in real nice condition. And now you can buy a running/driving Allante for $1000.
I’m always wary of ads without a price…
Well……..if the price is so high that they are afraid to tell us what it is, then maybe it shouldn’t be on here.
No price = you can’t afford it.
I owned a 93 and the NStar was amazing…so were the non-stop expensive repairs. Best 2 days of ownership: The day I bought and the day I sold.
Only thing missing is the Bundy Bounce.
I wonder what Incense Berkowitz is up to these days.
Who lists a car for sale without including an asking price?! Must not really want to sell it.
Allantes are similar to Corvettes in that you don’t really see one that’s been abused. Although the Northstar has more power, the 4.9 V8 was the more reliable motor, and provides ample (200) hp. Sadly these cars depreciated very quickly… and you can still find nice examples with under 100k miles for less than $10,000.
ClawSS beat me to the punch LOL. Whenever I see one of these, I think of Married With Children and Kelly Bundy! Wasn’t a big fan of these when they first came out, but now that I’m in my 70’s and living in FL (it’s the law you know), this is the perfect cruiser to run out to Daytona and the coast.
Naw…. I’m 81 and living in the hills in Arkansas and happily retired among the hills, trees, lakes, and very few people.
As far as the Allante, I never liked it because it didn’t look like a Caddy…. and way overpriced for what you got…. I will say that Georgetown Texas is a neat town, been in and through it a lot over the years…
No Northstar for me. Problematic from beginning to end.
Had the Northstar in a 2002 Seville SLS (275hp) that I inherited from my father. Thought it was a great car, never had a problem with it.
Nice car, but I think the name is uninspiring and it’s not very practical for a big car. For the right price though, I’d consider buying one for my wife.
Great color! I owned two of these, and drove them in the ground. Both had digital dashes which were problematic. Enjoyed them on top down days. Hated them on rainy days. The hardtops were nice. I had a red one, then silver. Kept the red top on the silver for a bit, not a good look!
I have A Diamond 💎 White one… Cranberry & Red Interior…. Cranberry soft top… Chrome wheels .. I love it😎😎😎😄😄😄💯💯💯
The dreaded Northstar head gasket failure is what killed my sister’s Seville STS. The ’93 Allante was theoretically a much improved car with the Northstar, but I think I’d go for a pre-93 myself. These cars are boulevard cruisers anyway, not sports cars, and the extra oomph of the NS isn’t worth the trepidation I’d feel every time I started it.