New car buyers can be quite fickle when a manufacturer exhibits what you might call automotive bravery. They will either reward the company with enormous sales success or avoid showrooms like the plague. Cadillac suffered the second fate with its Allanté, which never sold in the volume anticipated during its development. I must say a big thank you to Barn Finder Mitchell G. for spotting this 1993 example. It isn’t simply that it presents well that makes it appealing, but the first owner ordered it in a rare single-year paint shade. The seller has listed the Allanté here on Craigslist in Castle Rock, Colorado. You could drive this classic home after handing them $11,000.
Much has been written about the Allanté and its convoluted production process that involved shipping completed bodies from Italy to Detroit aboard a specially modified Boeing 747. That process was expensive, helping to explain why the Allanté was lumbered with a sticker price north of $56,000. This is a final year example ordered by the first owner in Pearl Flax, a color only offered during that year. The seller mentions the rareness of this shade, and my research tends to support their claim. Several reputable sources quote a total of eighty-nine vehicles ordered in this color, although drilling down further confirms that only eleven of those feature Tan leather trim and a Hardtop. That figure represents a mere 0.25% of total Allanté production for 1993. If you like your classics rare, this Cadillac ticks that box. Its presentation is hard to fault, with no visible significant paint or panel imperfections. This survivor is rust-free, and with the trim, glass, and wheels in excellent condition, it appears this Allanté has no cosmetic needs.
Cadillac saved the best until last with the Allanté, slipping an engine under the hood that provided the performance and refinement that the badge deserved from Day One. The 4.6-liter “Northstar” V8 was an absolute belter, producing 295hp and 290 ft/lbs of torque. The company didn’t offer a manual transmission option, with a four-speed automatic handling shifting duties. Contemporary road tests repeatedly praised the 1993 Allanté, with journalists impressed by both its acceleration and the refinement of the “Northstar” engine. The listing indicates that this one has 105,000 miles under its belt, which is about average for an Allanté of this vintage. If it has been appropriately maintained it should double that figure before needing major work. Potential buyers can consider this a turnkey classic that is in excellent mechanical health. Flying out to Colorado and driving home would be an excellent way to build a relationship with this Allanté, and is a viable option.
The interior is another Allanté highlight, with no evidence of significant wear on the Tan leather trim. The plastic also looks excellent, with the inside of this classic carrying the hallmarks of a vehicle that has been treated respectfully since Day One. It is also nicely equipped, even by modern standards. The buyer receives climate-control air conditioning, power windows, power locks, power seats, cruise control, a tilt wheel, a premium stereo, and the optional LCD digital dash.
It seems ironic that Cadillac canceled its daring Allanté program in 1993 due to disappointing sales, only for the badge to taste its greatest success during the final year. However, the tally of 4,670 cars would never be enough to save a car due for an expensive facelift for the following model year. There are many reasons why the Allanté failed, but the biggest issue was the sticker price. It equates to around $150,000 today, which is a lot of money by any standard. The seller’s price is a fraction of that figure and also looks competitive against recent successful sales. Summer is coming, making now the ideal time to park a classic Convertible in your garage. Is this Allanté a contender?
Another step down from The Standard of the WORLD. Cadillac ONCE was the epitome of OTT Luxury. In the 80s, several engines tarnished it’s image and Sales. Cimarron was a disaster. The final indignity came with the FWD 80s Cadillacs (notably giving the storied Fleetwood name to these IMO POS) and THEN dropping RWD traditional Brougham in 96. But Cadillac has gone even further with the focus on BLOATED SUVS at BLOATED prices. If Tarrifs prevail, few will be able to buy one. So, MAYBE this Allante could be a better choice. Where are the other Cadillac aficionados? Time to weigh in.
I think the Allante is more an example of automotive bravado than it is automotive bravery. Take a shortened Eldorado chassis, throw on an Italian body with a poorly-designed soft top, ship it to the US by the most extravagant and inefficient method possible, and bingo! It’s a Mercedes SL competitor. Not quite.
Before anyone disses the Northstar here, these early ones didn’t have the notorious problems with failing head gaskets/bolts. It was the middle years of Northstar production, long after the Allante was canceled, where issues cropped up, apparently due to a change in block metallurgy and switching to DexCool antifreeze, which cannot be mixed with any other antifreeze and must be changed on schedule.
Sub, that dexcool was pure 🚮
Stan,
I have to disagree with your comment. Dexcool was a big step forward in coolants. The additives did not deplete over time like silicated coolants. I suspect every OEM has used an organic acid technology coolant as factory-fill for quite a while now. It completely changed service requirements (remember 2 year service intervals?) for coolant. What Dexcool did was expose the weakness of other components (radiator caps, assembly plant fill procedures, etc.) that make up a coolant system. It was no longer the “weakest link” in the system.
This is a deal, the price is in the ballpark, it has the two options, chrome wheels and hardtop, that make it great. I own a ’93, higher milage, a few dings and dents, had to replace ECM which solved a “transmission problem”. Mechanically it is a ’93 Eldorado, many parts are very available (but not from your local Caddy dealer, try RockAuto), parts unique to it are available from three guys who specialize in them, one in NJ, one in FL and one in CA. It is an inexpensive way into the hobby, a far better car than a Mustang costing much more. By ’93 they got it right, fast, comfortable, but, wind noise top down, soft top up (it is stowed behind seats, not hard to put it up or down). Hardtop takes two people to put it on/off, came with rack with wheels to roll it into your garage. Digital dash, on mine, works, I have a spare which has analog gages, but plugs in, so is really just as digital for the sources and transmission of data. In snow country so don’t drive it in the winter, so don’t put hardtop on. They may have stopped in ’93 because GM changed the mechanical underpinnings for the Eldorado, don’t know.