Jet black is one of the colors that make an old Allante look new.
By Wallace A. Wyss
Captions by Wyss
All photos courtesy of
Norman Penfield, President Allante Atlanta Car Club
Like a lot of other trends in the auto industry, it started with all good intentions—the creation of an American car with the added glitz of Italian styling and coachwork.
I speak of the Cadillac Allante. The Allante has a name which Cadillac picked out of the air. It is not an Italian word like Avanti was for the Studebaker Avanti (which means “forward” in Italian.) I always thought it sort of hinted at the mythical undersea town of Atlantis. But the car, like the fabled city , sunk beneath the waves….
The two-seater was in production from 1987 through 1993.
Cadillac had seen the success of the Mercedes 450SL (introduced as the 350SL in 1971) and the Jaguar XJS and hungered for their own two seater sporty car. I say “sporty” not “sports.” There’s a difference.
[Read more…] about The Allante: Ultimate Italian Cadillac