Imagine driving a two-door hunk of iconic luxury down the road that is as long as a Chevy Suburban. Look no further, as the 1977 Cadillac Eldorado provides this and much more.
The 1977 Cadillac Eldorado is a stunning vehicle to behold, and was one of the five most expensive vehicles to buy in 1977, with the base model starting at $11,187. In today's money, that is around $48,000. Not that much by 2020 Cadillac standards, but still quite an expensive vehicle regardless. The car was designed to be considered luxurious and more on the elegant side, versus sleek and sexy. With Cadillac's storied history and attention to detail, the 77 Cadillac was truly a culmination of American engineering and refinement.
Elvis Presley's Last Cadillac
As many people are aware of, Elvis Presley was a huge fan of the Cadillac brand. So much so, he would frequently buy them and give them away to friends. The last Cadillac purchase Elvis made was a blue 1977 Cadillac Eldorado, which he did give away. The overall gifting of the vehicle was enhanced by it being personally delivered by the King himself. For those of you that are Elvis fans, it is safe to say that having Elvis drive up to your house and handing you the keys to a new Cadillac he personally purchased, would have to have been the thrill of a life time.
The Plush Interior
How would you like to drive to work while sitting on your favorite leather couch? Well, that is what 77 Eldorado owners got to do daily. Not sure how comfortable the vehicle would be for long trips, but a passenger could certainly take a long nap, stretched out in the back seat. Like cars of today, power windows, power locks, cruise control and power steering were all standard features. One quirky feature of the 77 Eldorado, though fairly common at the time, was the operation of the high beams via a small pedal, accessed by the left foot. You would think that Cadillac would have already migrated this feature to somewhere on the steering column.
The Exterior Is Insane
The 77 Eldorado was huge, almost 19 feet long. Again, this was only a 2-door vehicle! What a magnificent waste of space. Not only was the length impressive, it was also just shy of 80 inches in width. White wall tires were standard. A kind of odd external feature was the external thermostat that is connected to the left rear-view mirror. This vehicle was a tank, weighing in at over 5000 pounds. Yes, it did have a V-8 that generated 180 hp and front wheel drive, but with with that kind of bulk, it was not a fast car by standard. It is a good thing that the Eldorado came with a 27-gallon gas tank. Still, for those at the time that wanted to be surrounded by luxury, the Eldorado delivered quite nicely.
Customized To The Grill
Call it what you want, but only a car of immense proportions could lend itself to be customized to the point of having a built-in hot tub. What was the person who did this thinking? Not only did the modifications include a hot tub, but there was a whiskey bar in the trunk and a grill inside the hood. Perhaps the idea was inspired by a Hugh Heffner pool party. Think about the engineering difficulties in getting the front four wheels to all turn at the same time. How is that possible? This particular rendition of the 77 Eldorado must be way over the three-ton threshold.
In any event, the 1977 Cadillac Eldorado is a timeless piece of automobile history. This kind of waste and overall size will probably never be seen again. For those collectors that are lucky enough to own and Eldorado, kudos to them.