I’m all about the one-off or unusual color scheme, especially with cars that were seemingly ordered in nearly all the same three colors by very unimaginative owners. The Allante is a prime example of this, where the goldie-oldies bought everything in red, black, or white. Seeing a Cadillac in its most natural color of gold is not surprising on Sevilles and Eldorados, but we never get the privilege of seeing an Allante in this very demure shade. Find this Allante here on eBay with just under 60,000 original miles for $10,995 OBO.
Thanks to Barn Finds reader Russell G. for the find. The Allante, as we all know by now, was not the sales success the company was hoping for. It was expensive to build and disappointing to drive (at least compared to expectations) and they’ve never gained any sort of collector car following. That said, if you’re looking for a handsome and cheap top-down cruiser, it’s not a bad choice.
It’s also far from the best choice, but if you’re looking to pretend like you’re cruising around downtown Pompano Beach every day while living in the outer reaches of the Midwest, this is a fine way to travel. The seller doesn’t position this as anything other than a used car, but the cosmetic condition would indicate it’s been loved despite not being a time-capsule based on the average odometer reading.
Heck, if you want a domestic droptop with a V8 and don’t like the idea of driving a Fox Body or a Firebird, then this Allante may be worth a look. Factor in the uncommon exterior color and it makes it even more compelling, but the most encouragement that can be found is if the seller is willing to accept a fair – but below asking price – offer. I doubt these will be worth much more than this, so a lower offer seems fair.
I’ve always wanted one of these. I’ve heard 93 is the year to but due to the North Star engine. I confess to wanting a black one with burgundy leather, but I do like this gold color and how different it is. The brown dash is a nice touch.
I’ve owned 2 of these and they rock. The only problem was the dash instruments would go south and a new dash panel was around $1,500. They drive like a caddy and get a lot of attention. The northstar engines were the best. I may bid on this one.
After looking around on Ebay I found a better deal: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1993-Cadillac-Allante/202815891931?hash=item2f38c4e9db:g:XjUAAOSwk4ddjAYl#viTabs_2
1993, northstar and lower millage.
Didn’t the Northstars have the regrettable tendency to self-destruct at around 100k due to faulty head bolts? Might give a buyer pause…
They blow head gaskets due to too-small head bolts with too-fine threads stripping out of the block, but totally fixable with helicoils, thread-serts, or ideally stepped studs.
Problem is, it tends to be a very expensive repair unless you can do it yourself. Probably more than the car’s worth.
There is one in West Palm Beach that has 500,000 miles. Yes it’s had an engine replaced, but who cares
The first 2 years were sort of limited in colors, there was a often seen brochure silver and red interior combo, pearl white, dark red, gold and a light metallic blue. The bright red and other colors were added later.
I wish they had made this a RWD car. A sports car FWD? no….
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen an Allante that wasn’t red.
Beautiful body design ruined by phony side vent windows & terrible looking door mirrors. The former are there because the gas filler is where the rest of the rear of the door should be!! – so FULL door glass would not be able to roll down with this design!! DUMB! lol (The designers of 60’s & ’70s astroventilation must still be shaking their heads – & not at just this car.) Ridiculous # of buttons on dash – accident just waiting to happen. Pls just give me 3 don’t-take-my-eyes-off-the-road HVAC dials & simple gages for cryin out loud!
Steering wheel won’t win any beauty contest. & the inside door pulls gotta be a pain to use.
I didn’t mean to interupt your rant or anything…….but the “vent window” was also a wind blocker, you can have a conversation in these with the top down at speed with the windows down.
Ok rant on.
The Allante passenger compartment is designed to have minimal restriction of view from any angle
There are no “phony” vent windows. The triangular glass sections allow a reinforced side window design that is stronger than other cars.
“If you want a domestic droptop with a V8 and don’t like the idea of driving a Fox Body or a Firebird”… skip right over this litter box and check out the 4th or 5th generation Vette or an S197 Mustang. Seriously, unless one is looking specifically for an Allante I cannot think of a reason to own one unless it can had for around $3k in great condition… There is very little that could attract an enthusiast not very familiar with this model but Jeff thanks for featuring it anyway.
Really? An Italian hand made beautiful body, enclosed in leather & V8 Detroit iron doesn’t impress you? I owned 2 of them. I guess a duster or road runner is more up your alley .
Billieg, give me that Duster 340 six pack! Hell, I’d even take an inline 6 Duster with a manual!
When someone mentions an “italian made beautiful body” Allante is definitely not even close to the last thing that comes to my mind. Rather its an Iso or a Bizzarrini. But hey, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Allante has a place under the sun and if this car brings smile to your face then go for it.
Exactly
People who get wet over the Lancia Gamma ignore the Allanté, which is a far better car and a very similar design
It was never designed to be a race car. It was designed to be a luxurious convenience to wonderful road trips.
On that mission, it is a fabulous success
I think it would be easier to use a slide rule than decipher all the dash buttons.
I like the gold…need some Vogue tires and chrome rims. Burgundy with tan or black leather is sharp.
I doubt you have ever used a slide rule or an Allanté dashboard
It’s just not that difficult
Are you kidding me? Why does the moderator allow anti-semitic crap like this? Completely unacceptable.
Thank you. This is gross. I’m sure the moderator simply hasn’t had time to catch this deeply offensive remark and will take care of it as soon as he is notified
I owned one of these cars back in the early 2000’s, it was a 91, it was one of the best & most well built cars I’ve ever owned, and I’ve owned many high end cars, but the parts are near impossible to find & always at unreasonably high prices, another problem for these cars is the brake system, if not properly maintained, it will cease to function and repairs are in the thousands, if you can find a competent mechanic to do the job.
Who cares what the Urban Dictionary says? It’s offensive, pure and simple. I can think of several racial/automotive references but they wouldn’t be appropriate here or anywhere.
When it’s used in conjunction with money, geld, gold, etc. That’s when.
Maybe you need to wake up.
I’ll bet you’ve probably never seen a Mel Brooks movie either…..or you hate them.
When all you have is being a permanently offended hammer, everything looks like a nail thats ready to offend you.
I hope you can find a way be happy someday.
Yeah, that’s real clever – accuse the accuser of being the actual offender. Nice try. Why don’t you take your fascist bs to some site which might appreciate it? I can think of several, all of which would welcome you with Nazi salutes and jackboots.
JP, it is offensive to you & you alone, While I am not a Jew, I have quite a few friends who are and when I asked them if this was offensive to them, their reply was the same as mine, it is a name, nothing offensive about it. You are the one with the problem, please do yourself a favor & stop reading anything & everything ever printed, because I am sure there is something that will offend you at every turn, grow up!
When Collectible Automobile listed the Allante as a car to grab while they were underpriced, around ten years ago, I went and drove a low mileage one. My impression was it handled and drove like a bloated Corvette. And the instrumentation was the worst design I’d ever seen. After that test drive, I went further down the list of future bargain collectibles and chose the Triumph Spitfire. Many more smiles per mile. Future collectible? Maybe, but give me an analog MG or Triumph any day for the vintage feel of open air touring. No need to keep the owner’s manual handy to understand the dashboard ergonomics.
Thats probably the first and only time and Allante and a Spitfire were cross shopped. Though I’m not sure where anyone said these were sports cars. They’re a touring sport-luxury flash gadget convertible with the heavy emphasis on lux.
Its a 2 seat Eldorado, so if you’re more of a pure sports car person, its not going to be your thing most likely.
And they will never be a good investment……..
When I was looking for a collectible convertible for my fun fair-day driver I considered many years and models, and a Cadillac Allante was one of them. I read everything I could find at hand about them and ended up passing on them for relatively common expensive repairs. Electronics and head gasket issues were prevalent. Not cheap to fix, required special tools and experienced mechanics. Although you could get a low milage well optioned luxury car on the cheap, there was a good reason for that. I settled on a different simpler car and am really happy with it.
If your cross shopping at Spitfire, the Alante is not the car for you
If you think you’re going to make money on your hobby car, you need a better investment advisor
Have never heard the term “cross-shopped” before, but understand it was the publishers of the magazine who decided to lump the Caddy with the Triumph. The article from 10-11 years ago failed to anticipate the rise of niche fan clubs or restoration shows on television. Those begat fan bases for Land Rovers, Fieros, VW Kombi, etc. And powerhouses like Hemmels for S class Benz.
GM trying to compete with the Mercedes SL. Ha ha, nice try. Seriously, good idea but poor execution. Obviously, look at how the US public reacted to it. They either bought luxury German or Japanese. Sayonara.
It’s sold OK.
Like the Fiero and the Reatta, it was killed by accountants looking for rounding errors, not because it was a bad car
My dad bought a new one of these every year! I got to drive them all the time, the one I wanted him to get was the pace car edition!
Is this a convertible? Why no pics with the top down?