1950 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special

THIS 1950 CADILLAC FLEETWOOD SIXTY SPECIAL IS LOCATED IN: NORTH BILLERICA, MA

The Cadillac Sixty Special is a name used by Cadillac to denote a special model since the 1938 Harley Earl-Bill Mitchell-designed extended wheelbase derivative of the Series 60, often referred to as the Fleetwood Sixty Special. The Sixty Special designation was reserved for some of Cadillac's most luxurious vehicles. It was offered as a four-door sedan and briefly as a four-door hardtop. This exclusivity was reflected in the introduction of the exclusive Fleetwood Sixty Special Brougham d'Elegance in 1973 and the Fleetwood Sixty Special Brougham Talisman in 1974, and it was offered as one trim package below the Series 70 limousine. The Sixty Special name was temporarily retired in 1976 but returned again in 1987 and continued through 1993.

1950–1953

Throughout the 1950s, the Sixty Special would continue as a stretched and optioned-up version of the Cadillac Series 62, but lost the manual transmission.

For 1950, Cadillac showed all-new styling on every car in the lineup, including the $3,797 Sixty Special. While the opulent interior rivaled no other Cadillac, the exterior styling was nearly identical to the less-expensive Series 62 models. The chrome louver trim that was mounted on the rear roof panel since 1942 was now moved to the lower rear doors, just forward of the rear wheel wells. Although Cadillac utilized a wheelbase 4 in (100 mm) longer than the Series 62, the 130 in (3,300 mm) wheelbase was down 3 in (76 mm) from the previous year. The 1950 Sixty Special's shipping weight was 4,136 lb (1,876 kg) in base form (over 4,300 lb (2,000 kg) curb weight), and was powered by the same engine introduced for 1949 - the 331 cu in (5.42 L) Cadillac OHV V8 producing 160 horsepower (120 kW). For the first time in their history, over 100,000 Cadillacs were sold this year, and 13,755 of them was the Sixty Special – a new record for that model. Of historical note is that the actual 100,000th Cadillac that rolled off the assembly line was a 1950 Sixty Special.