Although the 1970 model was not the last long-wheelbase Cadillac sedan to be called Sixty Special, it was the last RWD version, and the last without the ubiquitous padded vinyl top. This Spartacus Blue Firemist car was one of just 1,738 1970 Sixty Specials, and was once the chauffeur-driven transportation of a famous pianist’s widow.
Cadillac introduced its first Fleetwood Brougham for 1965. At first, it was just an option package for the Fleetwood Sixty Special sedan, consisting of a padded vinyl roof and special badges, but it became a separate model for 1966, quickly eclipsing the popularity of the “plain” Sixty Special. Sales of the latter dropped off rapidly, falling to 3,550 for 1967, 3,300 for 1968, 2,545 for 1969, and just 1,738 for 1970, its final year in this form.
For 1970, the difference between the Sixty Special and the Brougham was $331, which bought the Brougham a Dual Comfort split bench front seat, folding rear footrests and reading lamps for rear seat passengers, and of course the vinyl top. Curiously, while you could order the Dual Comfort seats at extra cost, the 1970 Cadillac Salesman’s Equipment and Price Guide implies that you could NOT get a vinyl top on a Sixty Special, which may have had something to do with its declining popularity — about 80 percent of Cadillacs had a vinyl roof in 1970.
Despite the “HDTP 70” vanity plates on this car, the Sixty Special and Brougham of this vintage were four-door pillared sedans, sharing a stretched version of the usual GM C-body with a 3.5-inch-longer 133-inch wheelbase.
This stretch provided truly generous rear legroom, 4.5 inches more than the already commodious hardtop Sedan de Ville, and Cadillac threw in automatic level control as standard equipment to keep things on an even keel. With such generous accommodations, these cars could easily serve as chauffeur-driven transportation for people who rated a driver, but didn’t want a bulkier, more conspicuous limousine.
That was the case with the Spartacus Blue car pictured here, which was originally purchased in 1970 for Hilde Schania Wittgenstein. She was the widow of Paul Wittgenstein (1887–1961), who had achieved international fame as a concert pianist despite the fact that he had lost his right arm during WWI. A variety of composers had created pieces specifically for Wittgenstein, including Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand.
Hilde Schania was considerably younger than her late husband — she had been 18 when he first became her piano teacher in the early 1930s, and I think she was 55 when this car was purchased, living in Pike County, Pennsylvania — but she was mostly blind, so she required a chauffeur. The car was apparently purchased for her by another member of the family, although the name is redacted in the Bring a Trailer documentation. The pipe-cleaner stuffed animal in the driver’s door pull was Hilde’s, retained as a memento by the car’s later owners.
Other than the Dual Comfort seats (which this car doesn’t have), rear reading lamps (which Hilde Wittgenstein probably didn’t need), and rear footrest assembly, the interior of the Sixty Special and Brougham were the same, and offered the same trim and upholstery choices. These cars could have cloth-and-leather or leather upholstery, but this one has the all-cloth option, with nylon viscose “Divan” upholstery. The front bench has 6-way adjustment, which was optional, as were power door locks.
Both the Sixty Special and Brougham still had real Tamo wood veneers on the doors, something that would shortly disappear from Cadillac interiors. Power windows and a remote mirror were standard.
The dealer data book asserts that the “top and lower” instrument panel trim is also Tamo wood, although the book is vague about the inserts in the passenger-side cove. This car has automatic climate control (few Cadillacs were built without it by 1970, although it wouldn’t be standard until 1975) and the cheapest of the AM/FM radios. The latter is a little surprising — Hilde Wittgenstein was also a pianist, though not a professional, and I would have thought she’d have preferred one of the fancier, more expensive stereo sets, possibly with an 8-track tape deck.
Although the back seat was the normal domain of owner-passengers like Wittgenstein, Cadillac didn’t offer rear-seat radio controls except on the Seventy-Five models, and there were no picnic tables or rear vanity sets.
Some of those features might have raised difficulties with federal safety rules (the Brougham had had rear folding trays in 1966 and 1967 that were deleted with the first Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards took effect), but the result was that the only special equipment rear-seaters got in the Sixty Special were smoking sets in each door armrest.
One surprising point was that while lap belts were standard in 1970, Cadillac still charged extra for shoulder belts: $31.60 for each pair. This car has them both front and rear, but, judging from the photos, they don’t seem to have been worn much, if ever. Few Americans wore seatbelts at all until states began passing mandatory use laws in the mid-1980s, and separate shoulder belts mounted on the headliner were not exactly convenient.
Given the prodigious size of this car, the trunk isn’t vast. Cadillac rated its SAE usable luggage space as 17.3 cubic feet, which was adequate but not spectacular. Hilde Wittgenstein apparently didn’t go for many long trips by car; this Sixty Special had only about 23,000 miles when her estate put it up for sale following her death in 2001.
There were 472 cubic inches under the hood, but the engine was mildly tuned and hauling a Cadillac with a curb weight of around 5,135 lb, so performance was relaxed. A chauffeur-driven sedan would probably be driven gently in any case.
The wire wheels were added by a later owner, although they retained the original 15-inch steel wheels and wheel discs, which were offered with this car when it came up for auction in 2025. If I were to end up with this car, reinstalling the original wheels would be an early priority — I don’t think wire wheels look right on cars like this. The attractive Firemist paint, a $131.60 option in 1970, is supposedly mostly original.
Although Cadillac dropped the non-Brougham Sixty Special for 1971, the name was resurrected in 1987, now in FWD form. In 1987 and 1988, the Sixty Special was distinguished from the Sedan de Ville by a longer wheelbase, much like its 1965–1970 predecessor, with rear footrests and a rear overhead console. When the De Ville was stretched for 1989, the Sixty Special was consolidated on the same wheelbase, retaining the rear seat features and adding some extra standard equipment. It sold in very modest numbers through 1993. Unlike the 1970 model, nearly all had vinyl tops — the padded vinyl roof was a delete option on the FWD Sixty Special.
This particular 1970 Sixty Special will undoubtedly show up for sale again. Its comparative rarity and interesting backstory didn’t help it meet the reserve when it was offered on Bring a Trailer in April 2025, with bidding topping out at $15,000.
Related Reading
1967 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special And Brougham: Cadillac Builds The Ultimate Passenger’s Car (by me)
Curbside Classic: 1968 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special Brougham – Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This (by Jason Shafer)
1973 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special Brougham For Sale: Truly A Couch On Wheels (by Aaron65)
Curbside Classic: 1992 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special – Two Nice Leather Sofas, With A Car Around Them (by Tatra87)
Looking at the interior shots of this Cadillac, one could conclude that GM was testing the “rubbermaid” interiors of the upcoming ’71-’76 B bodies.
Yes, and by the same token the dash and interior remind me of pretty much all the interiors of the later 70’s and early to mid 80’s GM mid and full size cars. Which is to say, not the beautiful details and design of earlier Cadillacs. On the other hand, the exterior is still nice and still had the strong Cadillac identity.
Beautiful automobile…those were the days!
My interest in Cadillac sputters out post-64, but that is a very fine looking car, comes off understated and very classy compared with most 69/70s I’ve seen.
In seeing this, I’m reminded of a ’70 Sixty Special I saw frequently years ago. It was light yellow in color, with a black leather interior, and I think its air conditioning had stopped working. It was owned by a local opera singer who was a member of the chorus of the Arizona Opera and also a staff singer at the church where I was the organist. Outside of the nonworking A/C, the car was apparently a stalwart beast, and this fellow had named his car Isolde, after the Wagner opera “Tristan und Isolde.” Isolde is written for dramatic sopranos with enormous, powerful voices with great stamina, and is one of the operatic pinnacles for that type of voice.
Paul Wittgenstein was indeed important in the history of classical piano because of his commissions. I hope ones that he never or rarely played now see the light of day from today’s pianists!
Interesting to see, So few, in memory, without a vinyl, top. From the pics, the interior appears “oddly, spacious”.See no, obvious, rear seat, heat/ac, outlets.Thinking there must have been some.
When commuting by car I usually listen to the radio and, what with the nightmare that commercial AM and FM radio has become, I usually listen to either NPR or a local classical music radio station. When listening to the classical music station they’ve played recordings of Paul Wittgenstein’s piano performances a coupe of times now. They were very good. It is sad that his physical handicap and the notoriety surrounding it detracted from his talent an he music he produced.