1931 Cadillac V-16 Fleetwood All-Weather Phaeton
Cadillac stunned the luxury automotive world by introducing America’s first production V-16 engine in January 1930, designed to outclass rival Packard’s twelve-cylinder offerings. The 452 CI overhead-valve V-16 produced 175 horsepower with exceptional smoothness, employing hydraulic valve silencers that made the engine nearly silent at idle.
Engineer Owen Nacker developed the narrow 45-degree V-16 layout under strict secrecy, with all wiring and plumbing concealed beneath styled covers in accordance with Harley Earl’s design direction.
Fleetwood’s All-Weather Phaeton (style number 4380) combined formal elegance with open-air versatility. The four-door convertible body featured a distinctive split V-shaped windshield, a glass division panel separating the driver and passenger compartments, and roll-up glass side windows with folding B-pillars that sealed occupants from the weather.
In fair conditions, the top and side glass could be fully lowered, revealing a separate rear windscreen for passenger comfort.
Built on a 148-inch wheelbase with semi-elliptic leaf springs and four-wheel mechanical drum brakes, the substantial chassis carried a body weighing approximately 5,690 pounds. A three-speed manual transmission transferred power to the rear axle.
Combined production of All-Weather Phaetons totaled about 250 units for 1930-1931, representing a small fraction of the roughly 3,250 V-16 Cadillacs built during this period before Depression-era economics curtailed luxury car sales.
Source
