Persian Sand Iridescent. Is that a great name for a “Standard of the World” paint color or what? And what a beautiful color it is. Sort of a dusty purplish, pinkish mauve metallic that looks stunning on all those acres of sheetmetal on this 225-inch-long Caddy Coupe. But as impressive as the exterior on this 1960 Cadillac Coupe DeVille is, the original preserved Persian Sand interior and the long list of optional equipment ordered on this California car are just as impressive.
The seller doesn’t supply a large amount of photos, but enough to show how the styling department toned down the over-the-top styling of the mega-finned ’59’s. The ’60 Caddy’s had a new full-width grille, restrained chrome trim, and the rear tail fins were reduced and oval chrome housings contained stacked taillights and backup lamps. It was also the last year of the large wraparound windshield. This California Caddy looks great with its one repaint several years ago, no rust in sight, shiny chrome and trim, and perfect-looking glass.
The tasteful exterior color is continued on the inside with a color-coordinated Persian Sand interior of Caspain cloth with Florentine vinyl bolsters. Only one photo is supplied, but plastic seat covers are visible and probably the reason this original interior looks so well preserved. The elegant instrument panel and dash look very good and one can see some of the options ordered on this Caddy including Factory AC, the dash-mounted Artronic Eye automatic headlight dimmer, and power windows/vent windows. The seller shares that the Caddy is missing the cruise control as well as the AC unit under the hood. Other options listed by the seller include a power trunk release, foot-controlled radio station changer, and air-ride suspension (the last year it was offered) that has, not surprisingly, been converted to traditional springs.
Under the long, long Persian Sand Iridescent painted hood rests a wrench as well as the same power plant offered in ’59: a 390-cubic-inch V8 that generated 325 horsepower when new. Mileage is listed at 37,000, but nothing is mentioned if that’s the original mileage or if it’s 137,000 miles on the clock. It’s paired with a smooth shifting Hydra-matic automatic transmission and the seller says, “the car runs, shifts and cruises down the freeway at 70 all day long. No leaks and it was just serviced.” This beautiful once-California Caddy was sent to us by super-spotter T.J. and is located in Conroe, Texas. It is listed for sale here on Facebook Marketplace for $75,000 (which seems pricey since Hagerty’s values a #1 Concourse condition ’60 Coupe DeVille at $72,500). I think “Negotiable Price” should be added to this impressive Caddy’s long list of options if it’s going to find a new home. What a head turner, though.
You know how to pick ‘em. This is drop dead gorgeous though far beyond anything most folks may be willing to pay.
But to those that can appreciate and afford it, you’ve got a Georgia peach here.
GLWTS
This color just fits this ’60 Coupe Deville to a “T”. Its condition is extraordinary. I know the somewhat yellowed clear plastic seat covers kind of detract from it, but yet it adds to its story of its history, how it was cared for and protected. This has been somebody’s baby since day one. I enjoyed your write up Ron.
Thanks for the kind words, Driveinstile, this was a great car to write up. I’ve only seen one ’60 Caddy at a car show in that color and with the sun hitting it, it was, as Old Man Parker said, “Indescribably Beautiful!!”
You got that right ✅️ Ron. 👀 👌
Angel? Now I’m getting worried,,wait, wasn’t I supposed to meet her at McDonalds? Oh, oh, I better go check,,,oh boy, there she is, arms folded,,,I forgot, family came into town, I had a flat tire, you gotta believe me,,,
I don’t recall many of these 2 doors, while Milwaukee had its share of successful companies, most Caddys I remember were 4 doors driven by the bosses wife. I recently made a claim these were the best cars in the world, I guess I exaggerated a bit, obviously, Rolls, MB, Yugo made some impressive cars as well, but this was ours.
“Offered to his fellow Cadillac enthusiasts first”, well, that’s mighty nice of them, but more accurately, his fellow millionaires first. It’s okay, it’s merely for the “wow” factor amongst their buddies anyway, nobody is going to drive this thing, are they?
Howard,
You’re in rare form today, aren’t you?
Listen, you’re never going to find me at McDonalds. Bad enough I’ll go for Burger King occassionally. When they call that crap junk food, that’s an understatement.
Since we’re on a budget, how about Outback? My treat.
Pops had a ’60 Cadillac in this color. Unfortunately it was the horribly ugly 4 door 4 window flat top. One of GMs failures from the design department IMO.
Howard,
You’re in rare form today! As much as I appreciate your offer you’ll never find me at McDonalds. Its bad enough I’ll occassionally go for a Burger King but when they call that stuff junk food it’s quite an understatement. I know we’re on a budget but how about Outback? My treat.
Pops had a ’60 Cadillac in this color. Unfortunately it was a 4 window 4 door ruined with that
horrible flat roofline, IMO
God bless those Fingerhut plastic seat covers (takes me back to 1960). Keep the seats like new for at least 65 years if not a full lifetime. Nice car but an inch or two longer than my carport.
I refer to them as “Maria Barone” seat covers.
You always got out with the pattern imprinted on the back of your lap.
Beautiful ’60. My favorite year. FWIW – The seller added OBO and partial trades considered to the listing. I never like seeing an adjustable wrench anywhere under the hood of a car. Hopefully he was just tightening a battery cable.
Last year for the Autronic Eye: https://www.hagerty.com/media/archived/photonic-technology/
What a stunning beast. This beauty is a 1 car parade.
Would love to own – am I even worthy?
That adj wrench – donate it.
Best year of all time for Cadillac styling. That’s a fact and you can look it up.
Love the period correct bumper sticker but I think those who drove Cadillacs at the time would have had a Nixon/Lodge one.
Even in California.
Pretty much all of the big 3 were making 2 door beauty in 60. This caddy is so nice.also Michael drove a 59 coupe de ville in the deer hunter.
Uh Howard, I think you’re really in hot water this time. Standing up our Queen that way? Wouldn’t wanna be you when she gets her
hands on you. Those Italian ladies have some really vicious tempers too. Throw in the fact that she’s a Joisey goyle too, and
your fate, sir, has been irrevocably sealed. As for this car, I’d love to own it, but waaay to rich for my blood. I really like that Mauve paint job too. Makes me wanna do a print of this car as a ragtop. It would probably be
as stunning as this hardtop is. The thing that turned me off about this car was the air suspension system it has. I had
a ’58 Eldo 4-door hardtop I bought back in ’70, maybe ’71. Nice complete car but that system was a real nightmare! I’d
come from a tour and find my car
squatting 2 inches off the ground! Had to wait at least 20 minutes to inflate the airbags to get the car level again. I used to do that BEFORE I took a young lady out for a night on the town.
And yes Howard, we’d either go to McDonald’s or Tobin’s Pizza for dinner and then on to the movies
from there. And as I said a week or so ago, my car had a slow leak
in one of the rear airbags that caused the rear of my car to sink
slowly into the sunset. Wound up selling it to Fanning Cadillac as a
display piece as the airbags for the car were unobtainable. Other than that, I really like it and could
see Angel driving it all dolled up in a nice outfit with either a Beaufont or a beehive hairdo. Now that to me would be real class.
If I bought this those plastic seat covers would go in the trash. They served their purpose.
The younger more refined sister to the 1959. These truly more beautiful. Great colors. The covers did their job. Now they’re part of the originality of the car.
This!!! One of the few design upgrades out of Detroit that actually improved on the original rather than just muck it up and ruin what was good.
The Europeans understand how to leave good designs alone for a number years running (for the most part). The Beetle, BMW 2002/3.18, MB Sedans 1969-1984 or so, Alfa Romeo Spider, Fiat 124 Spider, MGB, Saab 900 series, Volvo 1800’s, Jaguar E-types and XJ6/40, and many more.
Fast forward to today’s offerings of a variety of the same jelly beans and SUVs only distinguished by the brand marker. I’m not an old curmudgeon. I’m just a fan of innovative and beautiful design.
A/C missing under the hood? The picture shows an A6 (R6? It’s hell to get old) Frigidair compressor ans hoses. Beautiful car but but the price of admission is to steep for me.
Seller mentions the “AC control unit” under the hood is missing, not the compressor. Not quite sure what that would be referring to.
I’m old enough to remember when this was new. That color aptly demonstrates how absolutely BLAND and predictable modern wheeled appliances are.
My grandfather had a 61 caddie 4 door with those exact covers on the seats. I remember as a kid him telling us not to play with the power window buttons. Lol. My grandmother was about 5’ tall. She drove it looking through the steering wheel. Scary to ride with her back then. They drove that car till they passed in the late 90’s. Thank God they never hit anything. It was a tank!!
I had a 59 same body style. I really didn’t believe how large it was until I brought it home and put it in my garage. It made the garage look small and it was an oversized 4 car garage. I bought it for about 10 K and sold it for about 12 K shortly later. I should have kept it, I think the sheer size of it just overwhelmed me.
At this point in Cadillac’s history resale was not their strong suit!!! I remember these and many 60-70’s Cadillac’s being sold used for a small portion of what one once retailed for new. While they were perhaps good used cars, their parts and repairs were more premium (perhaps complicated) than their more common sister brands of GM. To the more common folks these cars were a dream of prestige and comfort. Eventhough resale might have been hampered, it in no way reflected a lack of quality and contant progression in their engineering and performance.
This does not take away from the from what a fine automobile that rolled off of the GM factory. What a beautiful, fine machine. Looks like resale is up in 2025!
Uh Howard, I think you’re in really hot water for standing up our Queen
like that. Those Italian ladies are said to have vicious tempers. How do I know? I dated one. She
had a mouth worse than any sailor I ever knew. And throw in the fact that Angel is a Joisey goyle, my God Howard, you’re a dead man! She’ll stuff you into a hearse so fast you won’t even know what the hell hit you LAMO!
Best thing for you to do is to throw yourself on the mercy of her Majesty’s court and beg for mercy LSMIH! (Laughing so much it hurts). As for this car, I really like this car, but the only thing that really turns me off about it is that God awful air suspension system. Had a ’58 Eldo 4-door hardtop with that system on it and boy, was that a real nightmare! After a tour, I’d come home to find it squatting 2 inches off the ground! It took 20 to 25 minutes to inflate the airbags to get the car level again.
And yes, I did this BEFORE my date would show up. Since I can’t
drive, I’d pick her up at her parents house, let Mom or Dad out at our house, and then go out on our date. And yes Howard, we
sometimes did go to McDonald’s
or Tobin’s Pizza 🍕 before taking in a movie 🎥. And when our date was over, that whole process was
repeated over again only I used a taxi cab instead of waking my parents. One great thing about that was that we could neck all the way to her house if we wanted to–and sometimes we did! I can just see Angel driving this car in a nice outfit with either
a Beaufont or a beehive hairdo. I
always thought that was very classy and I’ll bet that she could
really pull it off too. One of my teachers in school dressed like that. And I didn’t care if I was sick and
dyin, I’d go to school just to see her. Think when I get time, I”ll make a print of this car as a ragtop. It would probably be as sharp as this one.
Ken,
You’re too funny! But also right on point! As an Italian Joisey girl I kinda do have a mouth worse than a sailor. And after putting Howard in that hearse that you mentioned I’d wear a red dress to his funeral. (The ultimate insult)
But Howard is, as you are also, one of my boys so he has a pass.
But thank you for the compliments and fun!
By the early ’60’s, GM was approaching it’s pinnacle of design and innovation. This car, particularly the interior, reflects that. No government intervention here, just great car-people doing their thing, like no one else.
Angel, where were you 10 years ago when I decided to go for a third round? We’d be having a blast now! Have some happy days lady!
It’s interesting how the passage of time alters perspective. In the 50s, 60s Persia evoked exotic thoughts. Today, Persia is Iran…not so exotic
And the fact that we realize that part of the world has always been at war one way or another.
Never been any peace there.
Hey Ron or Scotty,
How come I get a notice of a new comment, it lists the author of the comment, but many times the comment is not listed? And when a new comment is listed, why is it not always listed at the bottom? (Sometimes it is plugged into the .middle of the comments and not the end????)
I have been wondering about that for a long time.
If it’s in the middle of the thread, it’s because a person replied to an older comment.
In 1971 I bought a 1959 Cadillac in McAllen Texas that had 29,000 original miles for $600.00. It as Persian Sand Sedan Deville with Air condition and headlight dimmer. I only drove it for a few months and since I was 19 years old at the time, I wanted something faster. One day I test drove a 1969 GTX, 440, 4 speed. when I got back the salesman offered me $1200.00 for the Cadillac on trade and I jumped at the chance!
Hate to spoil the fun , but that is 59′ Cadillac……..not a 60′
First Cadillac I ever rode in was one of these, except painted a shade of emerald green. Our neighbor bought it for his sixteen-year-old daughter to drive since he was worried about her safety and wanted to have as much car around her as possible. I can still remember the ride home from school and cracking my knee on the wraparound windshield. I bought my first Cadillac about five years after that, and four more after that one. This car is simply gorgeous.
Wow, she’s a real beauty and I love this color too. 59 and 60s are my favorite year Cadillac coupes. I see the A6 compressor and condenser in the photos so may the lines are what are missing. I had a 64 Impala that’s A6 had a strange muffler unit on top that I had to have it’s line re welded. $75k is out of most people’s reach, but she is surely nice to admire.
I believe someone on this thread mentioned this was the last year of the air ride suspension. If these parts are no longer available what do you do when this suspension system fails and needs repaired. Do traditional airbags work, or can you go to spring and coil? Sounds like major surgery.
It is HC, the whole suspension has to be replaced. It won’t be cheap but it can be done. That’s why I’d want nothing to do with this car. Oh it’s plenty nice alright, but if that system fails, it’s
all over but the cryin.