Lot 318: 1970 Cadillac N.A.R.T. Zagato

Luigi Chinetti, who as a racing driver had piloted a Ferrari to a victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours race, served as an American distributor for the Italian marque during the Sixties. He continued his racing passion through his North American Racing Team, universally known by the acronym NART, with cars renowned for providing podium finishes for their drivers. After many successful racing campaigns, the cars were often sold to the wealthy, attracting high premiums. It was Chinetti, with the help of General Motors, who designed and developed this Cadillac NART. Drawings were created followed by full scale clay models, prior to a prototype being built by Zagato and furnished with parts from a Cadillac Eldorado. The design could be considered both controversial and daring; an engine placed amidships, behind the rear seats, yet with an interior that could comfortably house four to six passengers. Parts were used from other Cadillac vehicles to create the front suspension and servo-assisted, ventilated disc brakes were fitted all round. All available amenities of the time were installed, including power assisted steering, pop-up headlights, air conditioning, stereo radio/cassette tape music system and electrically operated windows. The windows were large and allowed the driver and passengers to see and be seen, and clearly the Cadillac NART was intended to appeal to the wealthy. It was to be produced in limited numbers, built to high standards and expectations and to have the performance of a sports car and the class and prestige of a luxury vehicle. Of course, it would be accompanied by a price tag that matched. Work began on the prototype in 1969 and two years later the Cadillac NART was displayed on the Zagato stand at the 1971 Turin Auto Show and on the Chinetti Motors stand at the New York International Automobile Show. By then, however, Chinetti's Ferrari business was requiring all of his attention and although a second prototype was scheduled it was never built leaving this the one and only Cadillac NART ever produced. This unique left-hand drive motor car is in excellent condition throughout, including the enormous 8.2 litre V8 engine and automatic transmission, indeed it is described by the vendor as being in 'as new condition' with only 6,500 miles recorded on the odometer. Supplied with the car are American registration papers and original black and white photographs of the car at the 1971 Turin Auto Show, and all European taxes have been paid. It is unusual for a car like this to be available on the open market; most are destroyed, displayed in museums or retained by the manufacturer. This one-off creation combines the pedigree of some of the most evocative names in motoring and motor sport, and it would surely be the focal point of any serious collection.Dieser einmalige Cadillac, entstanden aus einer Idee von NART Grnder Luigi Chinetti und entworfen von Zagato mit einem enormen 8.2 Liter V8-Motor, wird von seinem Einlieferer als in durch und durch exzellentem, neuwertigem Zustand beschrieben. Angeboten wird diese Italo-Amerikanische Koproduktion mit den amerikanischen Papieren, dem EU-Verzollungsnachweis sowie originalen Schwarz-wei? Fotografien von dem Turiner Autosalon 1971, wo das Fahrzeug erstmals vorgestellt wurde. Nur sehr selten kommen diese fahrbaren Prototypen auf den offenen Markt, und diese Symbiose von Legenden der Autowelt ist sicherlich ein bedeutender Beitrag zu jeder Sammlung.