Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz
When international travel enthusiasts first hear the word Biarritz, they usually think of a seaside resort town in southwestern France, where the attractions include casinos and surfing. If you grew up during the Golden Age of the American road trip or if you are a fan of classic cars, there is another Biarritz, and this one originated in a landlocked part of the United States, on the shores of the Detroit River. The Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz is the name given to various convertible models of the Eldorado during the car’s 50-year history.
Every Biarritz Is an Eldorado, but Not Every Eldorado Is a Biarritz
The history of the Cadillac Eldorado begins in 1952, when Cadillac debuted a convertible showcasing state-of-the-art features. Mary-Ann Marini, a secretary at Cadillac, named the car Eldorado in celebration of the fact that Cadillac had been in the business of manufacturing cars for 50 years. Later in the 1950s, as the Eldorado grew in popularity and diversified its models, Cadillac started using the term Eldorado Biarritz to refer to its Eldorado convertibles, while the hardtop models were known as Eldorado Seville.
Between 1956 and 1961, Cadillac offered both the convertible Biarritz and the hardtop Seville, but the Biarritz outpaced its hardtop sibling in popularity, and in 1961, Cadillac discontinued the Seville. Between 1961 and 1964, every Eldorado was a convertible, but they were still called Biarritz, even though there was no non-Biarritz Eldorado during those years. Starting in 1965, Cadillac dropped the “Biarritz” appellation from the Eldorado, changing the name to Eldorado Fleetwood, to highlight the fact that the car’s body was made by Fleetwood, an old and prestigious auto body company.
Biarritz as a Luxury Trim Level of the Eldorado
Starting in 1976, Cadillac began using the term Biarritz again, but this time it had a more specific meaning. This new Biarritz referred to the most luxurious trim levels of the seventh generation Eldorado (1971-1978). The luxury Biarritz featured some of the most coveted luxury trappings of the mid-70s. Buyers had the option of leather seats, pillow seats, or tufted seats for the interior, as well as opera-style interior lighting Between 1979 and 1985, the Eldorado Biarritz came with a brushed stainless-steel roof, perhaps as a nod to the then-new phenomenon of 1950s nostalgia, since the Eldorado convertibles of 1957 and 1958 had come with brushed stainless-steel roofs.
The 1978 model year bore the distinction of having a dazzling array of roof options for the Eldorado Biarritz, each rarer and more luxurious than the last. Three quarters of the custom Biarritz Classics that year had no astroroof or sunroof, while 475 had an astroroof, 25 had a sunroof, and one eminently collectible had a power-sliding T-top roof. Beginning in 1985, Cadillac scaled back the trim options available for the Eldorado Biarritz, but it kept the name for the most luxurious trim level of Eldorado convertible. The last model year in which the Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz was produced was 1991, although other types of Eldorado stayed in production until 2002.
