This XP-840 Eldorado fastback was one of the wild and unique Cadillac V16 Concepts

UNIQUE Ones When you think of American luxury cars, you probably immediately think of Cadillacs. Well, since it was founded in 1902, by founders William Murphy, Lemuel Bowen, and Henry M. Leland, it is almost certain that this brand is synonymous with luxury and always appears in a luxurious style. In addition, on several occasions, the company designers toyed with radical design ideas and beastly-powered engines (even by American standards), such as the Cadillac XP-840 Eldorado Fastback that was later born.

This 1965 Cadillac XP-840 Eldorado Fastback featured with a massive undercut nose, semi-separate front fenders, then the V-shaped windshield and continues to the rear of the canopy. (Picture from: TopSpeed)

Back then, the Cadillac XP-840 Eldorado Fastback was one of those obscure projects that inspired a future model that was approved in 1963 and was one of the first Cadillac concepts of 1960s. Reportedly not many cars made by the company as good as the XP-840, so no wonder the concept became something substantial and became part of the philosophy of Cadillac when designing the car.

This 1965 full-scale mockup for a Cadillac V16 two-seater named XP-840 Eldorado Fastback was a concept vehicle which had low body styling but a much longer front and a dramatically tapered fastback roof. (Picture from: TheTruthAboutCars)

Moving on to its looks, the XP840 Eldorado Fastback features many of the firsts never seen on a model made by GM's subsdiary marque before, such as the absence of a rear window, and instead a small hole is made for the rear-facing camera. Well, as you could been seen the Cadillac XP-840 Eldorado Fastback was a concept vehicle which had low body styling but a much longer front and a dramatically tapered fastback roof.

The 1965 Cadillac XP-840 Eldorado Fastback has a unique back panel deeply inset between bold "outrigger" rear fenderlines, and the ribbed "cuffs" spilling out and down from the hood to recall the outside exhaust pipes of Classic days. (Picture from: TheTruthAboutCars)

Designers really cut loose on this two-passenger fastback, by giving it a massive undercut nose, semi-separate front fenders, then the V-shaped windshield and continues to the rear of the canopy. The double notched beltline and rear panel, "hidden" between the rear fender lines eventually became some of Cadillac’s distinctive design elements. Not to mention existences of a back panel deeply inset between bold "outrigger" rear fenderlines, and the ribbed "cuffs" spilling out and down from the hood to recall the outside exhaust pipes of Classic days.

This 1965 Cadillac XP-840 Eldorado Fastback features many of the firsts never seen on a model made before, such as the absence of a rear window, and instead a small hole is made for the rear-facing camera. (Picture from: Motor-Junkie)

This unique full-size two-seat fastback actually was developed only to be rolling model, and planned to be powered by a unique V16 drivetrain (which is said to be specifically made from 2 units of V8 engine). As quoted of TopSpeed, that taken from the seventh generation Cadillac Series 62 model, ie a 6.4 liter (390 cu in) or 7.0 liter (429 cu in) OHV V8 engine.

This 1965 full-scale mockup for a Cadillac V16 two-seater named XP-840 Eldorado Fastback has a unique rear panel, "hidden" between the rear fender lines eventually became some of Cadillac’s distinctive design elements. (Picture from: TopSpeed)

In reality, this GM's subsdiary marque did not have a need for a V12 or a V16 car and the project mentioned above was mostly for the company's study designs, even if they made another V16 concept many years later, such as the Cadillac Sixteen. Indeed, it’s hardly a surprise, many design cues from the XP-840 made it on future models. Finally, like many other daring designs, the XP-840 never made it to production, but its legacy carried on into other Cadillac's production models might be until todays.

Former GM Design Director, Chuck Jordan, who also headed Cadillac Styling then, recalled; "We finally dropped the project after the full-sized model was completed. We had a lot of other things to do, and here we were playing with a full-size clay we never intended to expose. It was strictly a styling exercise." *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | TOPSPEED | CARSTYLING.RU | CLASSICCARS.FANDOM | ELDORADO-SEVILLE | MOTOR-JUNKIE | THETRUTHABOUTCARS ]

Note: This blog can be accessed via your smart phone.

Kindly Bookmark and Share it: