1959 Cadillac Roadster DeVille rendering Never Existed, But Should Have

1959 Cadillac Roadster DeVille rendering Never Existed, But Should Have
It’s a mix of Cadillac and Corvette.

For most of Cadillac’s modern history, there has not been a two-seater offering. The exceptions to the XLR and Allante in its early days were a few variants. Abimelec Design has created a new history for General Motors’ luxury brandplate, rendering the design for a two-seater sporty from the late 1950s.

This idea is very similar to the XLR of the 2000s. It takes the bones from the Chevrolet Corvette, and adds Cadillac luxury. Abimelec Design used the 1959 Corvette as well as the 1959 Caddy deVille to create this vehicle rendering. To get an idea of where the artist is working from, take a look below at each model.

1959 Chevrolet Corvette
1959 Cadillac DeVille 6-window Sedan

The Corvette is the main contributor to this fictional DeVille roaster. Both vehicles have two pairs of headlights at the front, but the ‘Vette places them on the top of the hood instead of incorporating them into its grille, like the Caddy. This rendering shows the design of DeVille’s large, chrome grille.

1959 Cadillac Roadster DeVille rendering Never Existed, But Should Have

The ’59 DeVille has a large set of tailfins at the rear, while the Corvette has a smaller pair. This rendering makes a compromise, giving the fictional roadster prominent fins, but not as large as the real-world Cadillac.

Here are some fictional renderings of vintage vehicles:

Power wouldn’t have been a problem if this roadster existed. The factory rating for the ’59 DeVille was 325 horsepower (242 megawatts). With the optional fuel injection system, the Corvette’s 4.6-liter V8 could produce as much as 290 horsepower (216 kW). These images do not show a carburetor. The maximum output of this system at that time was 270 horsepower (201 kW).

Cadillac could have offered something similar to the DeVille Roadster back in the 1950s. But such a sporty vehicle wouldn’t have been in line with Cadillac’s luxury focus at the time.