Dean Martin’s Cadillac Eldorado up for auction
That’s Amore – ‘one-off’ Eldorado goes under the hammer alongside Australia Grand Prix history and custom number platesA piece of American pop history will be up for grabs later this month when Dean Martin’s very own Cadillac Eldorado goes under the hammer, right here in Australia.
Owned by the American singer, actor, comedian, and TV star, the 1969 Cadillac Eldorado Sport Wagon is described in “barn-find” condition, which means the future owner has some work ahead of them if they plan on returning it to concourse condition.
Indeed, images reveal a weathered – and potentially rodent-infested – interior with loose wiring and stains throughout, while the exterior is banged up and rusty.
But all the fundamentals are intact, including a whopping 7.7-litre V8 engine, not to mention the bragging rights that come along with owning a vehicle once driven by one of the members of the legendary ‘Rat Pack’, which saw Martin perform alongside Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Junior.
Said to be a one-off machine ‘hand-built’ for Martin by George Barris, a Hollywood-based vehicle customiser and owner of (now closed) Barris Kustom Industries, the Eldorado’s history has been verified, including its lengthy stint here in Australia.
Barris, who’s said to have pitched a 1970 Eldorado station wagon concept to Dean Martin before coming up with the Casa de Eldorado, has designed and built several cool machines, including the Batmobile used in the 1960s television series.
Martin, who passed away in 1995, was quite the rev-head, with plenty of cool metal throughout his years, including the move to a slightly newer 1975 Cadillac wagon and a 1976 Cadillac Fleetwood Estate wagon following the Eldorado.
He’s also said to have owned a variety of vehicles, from respectable nameplates including Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, Jaguar, Aston Martin, a few Ferraris, and even a (super-rare) 1976 Stutz Blackhawk.
With no reserve, the headline piece is tipped to fetch between $25,000-$35,000 at Donington’s Summer Classic Car & Number Plate Auction, when bidding begins on 25 February 2024 in Sydney.
Other items up for auction include a 1940 Lincoln Zephyr V12 coupe, a 1975 Holden HJ Kingswood Vacationer II, as well as a 1926 Bugatti Type 37, with six Australian Grand Prix starts to its name, and an eye-watering value of $1 million.
Several heritage and custom plates from right across the country are also going under the hammer, including South Australian plate ‘980’ tipped to be worth around $140,000, as well as Victorian custom ‘888888’ plates estimated to sell for $100,000-$130,000.
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