OLD CARS: Allante’s mission was to raise Cadillac’s profile

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Cadillac Allante isn’t remembered with any great fondness today, but that’s a mistake. If you happen to spot one of the two-seater convertibles you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised with its handsome appearance. Allante’s overall design has aged better than most cars from that same era.

What’s important to understand, however, was that Allante’s overarching purpose 30 years ago was to help restore the shine to Cadillac’s crown and attract a new and younger set of Cadillac buyers.

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At the time, however, Allante wasn’t well received by the motoring public. The car was underpowered – but underpowered only when you consider that GM designed and built their two-seater to compete against the likes of two-seaters from Mercedes Benz and Jaguar. Unfortunately, it was only in its final model year that Allante was given Cadillac’s Northstar V8, which produced 290 horsepower.

The other issue was price. For 1993, Allante had a base sticker price of about $50,000 – an incredible sum of money for that era and about $3,000 less than what Mercedes was asking for its well-regarded SL500. And the Mercedes was superior in areas of power and handling.

Cadillac wanted to build 6,000 Allante cars a year, but never reached that figure. Overall, it built 21,430 over seven years. Its best year was its final year, when 4,670 units were built and sold for 1993.

The two-seater was launched for 1987 and was created mostly to provide Cadillac with an aspirational model for the 1980s. Such a car would be luxurious, exceptional, well-powered and exquisitely designed. It would also be incredibly expensive and therefore out of the reach of all but a few well-heeled potential buyers.

The four presumed objectives of Allante were characteristics that Cadillac had carefully developed and promoted from the very start of its formation. Within a few years of its 1902 launch, the Cadillac name would become synonymous with all of those characteristics. Indeed, by the 1920s, its reputation was so finely developed that the word ‘Cadillac’ was used by advertisers to express the excellence of whatever product they were promoting.

Cadillac was almost always an early recipient of GM’s new technology. And although mostly conservative in design, stylists often stretched themselves to improve the luxury car’s appearance through the use of subtle but rarely startling innovations. Cadillac was one of the first cars to develop a defined trunk, and to have its door hinges hidden. But it was also the first car in Detroit to spout fins.

This careful growth of Cadillac’s reputation began to yield dividends for GM in the 1950s. Even as the price of a new Cadillac car continued its lofty ascent, its sales paradoxically rose, as the new post-war economy introduced an unprecedented prosperity to the U.S. and Canada. For 1955, Cadillac sold 140,727 new cars, and for 1956 it sold 154,577 – and was the ninth most popular nameplate in America.

It was still an expensive car, but there was so much new wealth in the country that the illusive Cadillac experience was becoming available to more potential buyers.

Cadillac eventually leveraged its name to push sales, and frequently at the expense of its reputation. Its executives campaigned in the early 1980s to be included in GM’s J-car program, which produced a series of badge-engineered four-cylinder cars to compete against Honda and Toyota. The outcome for Cadillac was Cimarron, built from 1982 to 1988. Even to the most casual observer, Cimarron was not much different from Chevrolet’s J-Car, Cavalier, although much more expensive.

But Cadillac’s initial overseas competition never came from Honda or Toyota. It came from Mercedes Benz and BMW. Cadillac first surmised the strength of that German competition in the early 1970s. It responded by designing a rather remarkable car, Seville. Introduced for 1975, Seville was an immediate success, receiving both commercial and critical acclaim. It was the smallest Cadillac available for 1975 but the most expensive, and arguably the most technologically advanced. Seville was certainly the most handsome.

Seville’s introduction was the first of many cars to be reduced in size by GM in the 1970s as it sought a solution to rising fuel prices and an answer to the U.S. government’s new CAFÉ standards, which sought through legislation to raise the fuel economy of American automobiles.

Cadillac initially benefitted from the downsizing program. Its full-size models remained as handsome as ever in 1977 when it shed roughly 700 pounds and several inches in length; and its fabled Eldorado, when its size was reduced for 1979, saw sales improve.

But the corporation’s downsizing program continued through to the mid-1980s. Cadillac’s full-size sedans, its Seville and the Eldorado were further reduced in size to a point where they became, in some cases, mostly ignored by buyers who were looking for a luxury car and were increasingly finding satisfaction with the Germans.

Moreover, Cadillac was becoming concerned that its customer base was aging. It needed to develop car that would attract younger buyers.

It was into this climate that Allante was born.

The new two-seater was based on a new platform called the V-body. It was front-wheel drive and its engine transversely mounted.

Allante’s wheelbase was 99.4 inches, and its overall length 178.6 inches. Its width was 73.5 inches.

It was initially fitted with Cadillac’s 4.1-litre V8, an engine it carried for 1987 and 1988. That engine would be replaced for the 1990-92 model years with a 4.5-litre V8, and ultimately with the Northstar for 1993 only.

The most interesting thing about Allante was its production, which was highly unusual. Cadillac engaged the services of Italian designer Pininfarina for styling and the manufacture of the bodies.

It was a costly setup. Allante bodies were built in Italy and then shipped back to Detroit for final assembly, which included an American-built chassis and engine. The shipment of the car bodies required a specially-equipped Boeing 747 to hold 56 bodies.

As can be expected, Allante received the best technology that GM then had to offer. Much of that was showcased in the roadster’s dashboard. The instrumentation was all electronic, with no knobs or manual controls. The instrumentation was similar to what was being made available to buyers of the new Reatta, Riviera and Tornado Trofeo.

Among the reviews of the Allante was Car and Driver. In February 1989 it compared Cadillac’s roadster to the Mercedes Benz 560SL. Overall, the writer praised General Motors for making a good effort. It suggested that Allante shouldn’t be judged after two model years, and further suggested that great cars are developed after many years of production and continued focus on excellence. But the writer was pleased with the new Cadillac.

Allante may have been underrated, but it didn’t immediately improve its engine until 1993. It was a lost opportunity for Cadillac.

Overall, sales never met GM’s expectations. A total of 21,430 roadsters were built over seven model years. As already mentioned, the best sales year was in 1993, when the Northstar V8 was introduced. Cadillac sold 4,670 Allante cars.

The big question is whether Cadillac was able to raise its profile with Allante. That was the initial purpose of the new car. For several years GM’s luxury car division struggled with renewing its identity and bringing in youthful buyers. It didn’t quite accomplish that during the 1990s, but seemed to have come into its own after the turn of the century with an aggressive styling theme based on its Evoq concept.