1933 Cadillac V16 Limousine, Series 452-C 🇺🇸

The V16 7-passenger limousine with body by Fleetwood was the most “common” V16 powered Cadillac of 1933.

The NB Center car, style 5575 is the 25th of 32 of these bodies made. The very first of these cars produced was purchased by American comedian and celebrity Will Rogers. This style was intended to be chauffeur driven with a division window separating the drivers compartment from the rear passenger compartment. Fold down “jump” seats in the rear allowed for up to five passengers behind the chauffeur.

This car was ordered new by Seeley W. Mudd for his wife Della M. Mudd. S. W. Mudd was a mining engineer who developed a copper mine in Arizona, a gold mine in Colorado and eventually a copper mine in Cyprus.  His vast wealth allowed for such a lavish purchase during the Depression.

The car has retained a remarkable degree of originality with all of the factory mechanicals and upholstery intact, even most of the paint is original factory applied. To drive this remarkable time capsule is one of the few opportunities to experience what a new car felt like in 1933.  

Company
General Motors

Make
Cadillac

Model
452-C, style 5575

Body Style
Limousine, 4-dr,  7-pass

Body Manufacture
Fleetwood Body

Model year
1933

Wheelbase
145 inches

Length
222 inches

Engine
V16, OHV, 452 cid

Horsepower
185 hp @   3400 rpm

Transmission
3-speed manual

Original Base Price
$ 6,600

Brand Production
3,173

This Car Production
32

As the world sank deeper into  the Great Depression, automobile manufactures clamored for any customers who still had money and were willing to purchase cars, let alone the finest cars. Car companies provided potential buyers a dizzying array of choices of body styles, the highest level of craftsmanship available and the benefits of the finest engineering they could offer.  Cadillac’s fortunes depended on luring in the customers who could both afford the cars and were willing to be seen in them during such hard times.

The Cadillac series 452-C was the top of the line V16 powered offering and it did not cut any corners. Available in nearly 70 body styles on two wheelbases.  The smooth and powerful V16 engine displaced 452 cubic inches and boasted 185 horsepower. The engine could propel even the largest and heaviest of the body’s offered at 80 miles per hour. 

Cadillac advertising leading into the 1933 model year made the pitch for exclusivity by stating that only 400 V16 cars would be produced that year.  As it unfolded, 1933 would be the biggest challenge faced by Cadillac in the company's history. Sales plummeted to a level not seen since Cadillac’s fledgling days before 1909. The 400 V16 cars never materialized. Only 125 V16 of all body styles were manufactured.