No automotive design expressed late '50s flamboyance like the '59 Cadillac Coupe DeVille. This 5,000 pound beauty handled like a dream. The secret was a lower, sleeker body design that lowered the car's center of gravity. This design, combined with power steering and improved coil-spring suspension, made the Coupe DeVille as smooth as a cruise ship on a calm sea. but this big Caddie wasn't just luxurious; it was also powerful. Its 390 cubic inch engine delivered 325 horsepower and enhanced torque for better acceleration. And the car came with Hydra-Matic - considered the best automatic transmission of its time. Graciously appointed with every luxury - including cruise control and the spacious interior of a limo - this Caddie's exterior was graced with pronounced fins, a peaked rear roof and the most glass ever used in a Cadillac. Naturally, the car could be made even more luxurious with options - such as an automatic heating system ($179), "Autronic Eye" ($55), remote control trunk lock ($59) and monogram ($12). And now, the '59 Coupe DeVille is recaptured in a die-cast model painted in its most popular original scheme - black outside, red inside.

Original sticker price: $5,500
Current value: $25,000
Production quantity: 53,390

Fast Facts:
• Most glass ever used on a Cadillac.
• At 19 feet, the longest car of the '50s.
• Shock absorbers feature Freon-12 instead of air.

(1996)

Scale: 1:43