“Innsbruck Edition”? Obviously the inspired and creative folks at Global Coach & Armor Manufacturing of Orlando, Florida had never been to my birthplace when they came up with the name for this abomination. Innsbruck is awash in classic medieval and baroque splendor; this is just an ugly little turd. I shudder to think what they were asking for it. A K-Car LeBaron convertible looked ten times better.
The desire to make it a two seater?, makes it look like a bad Photoshop .How many were sold,I wonder.
I am a fan of the bustleback but this is every kind of wrong. Proportions are way off but even if they were “way on” it probably still would look ridiculous.
Looks just as bad as the original monstrosity. While this generation of Seville was one of Bill Mitchell’s last cars, Irv Rybicki should get the blame for allowing this car to go into production. There was time to change that bustle-back rear. This and the Pontiac Grand Am inspired 1986-1991 model were part of the beginning of Cadillac’s downfall.
If anything the gen 2 Seville maybe should’ve been focus-grouped in Innsbruck, or at least the design team should’ve been told to build a Seville that could pass for a new senior Opel. There was no point in going full-Brougham on the Seville even without the bustle, since that would only result in a car that would appeal to the same crowd that bought De Villes, Fleetwoods and Eldos. The whole idea of multiple platforms was to expand the brand’s market appeal and the gen 1 achieved that.
I like it. But I know only a cynical perspective is allowed on this site.
Right. So how about you don’t not like it?
lol
An original-length Seville convertible might be tolerably good looking, but it would probably collapse in the middle.
To me, this is proof there was too much cocaine going around during this era. Cocaine can make bad ideas look like great ideas.
Well, that’s what I heard.
While in many respects Global Coach & Armor was similar to other custom coachworks firms of the ’80s that converted limousines, convertibles and the like, there was a twist.
The firm’s founder, Mike Senia Sr. and his son Mike Jr. both had a passion for drag racing. And using their company’s production capabilities, they created their own dragsters out of… what else… Cadillacs.
I doubt Senia became well-known, but his drag racers were sure memorable. There may have been several of them, but this one, cleverly named “Beyond Criticism” is the most well-known:
I immediately think of the Austrian alps when I see this and could totally see myself carving up the Grossglockner alpine road in one of these. I actually am going to Austria in 2 weeks. Maybe I should contact Global Coach & Armor Manufacturing to see if they can work their magic on my Skoda.
It looks like this same coachbuilder did convertible conversions of the J-platform Imperial, Cordoba, and Mirada. To be fair, those don’t look bad.
Corey,
Should you want to show the world you drove the Grossglockner pass at speed, I’ve got one of the very rare early ’50s enameled pins signifying you made the trip, and the pin is a lot cheaper than the trip! Curious about your Skoda, I’ve had a couple over the years, as well as Tatra cars, I have a T2-603 at the moment.
You can contact me at my email, It’s my full name without the space, @aol.com.
Thanks for the tip, Bill. Forget my Skoda, which is just an Octavia Kombi company car. I’m curious about your Tatra!
I had a chance to drive the Grossglockner 2 years ago, but the weather was totally socked in and I didn’t want to pay the toll if there were no views to be had, so I took another road. Won’t make it to Grossglockner on this trip, but I hope to at least do the Silvretta alpine road.
Paul, you are the only authentic Innsbruck edition allowed in the site, so let´s leave silently and unrespectfully,
Ironically, the ad displayed beneath the photo of this shrunken, topless bustleback when I accessed the page was for a prescription medication for adults with opioid addiction.
When I see things like this and the the Lincoln just posted, the only feeling is awe that there
were enough people who purchased these expensive nightmares to support a whole
cottage industry.
Jon, The Lincoln ad mentioned the Mk 4 high roof was a one-of-a-kind. This is probably after building it, and they had 100% negative comments, they simply tried to sell it off as a one-off special!
The Cadillac Seville 2-door convertible on the other hand, I wasn’t able to find a single example on the internet, so perhaps this was indeed a photoshopped concept that no one was foolish to order constructed.
That said, I found probably over 100 of the 1978 Seville 2-door convertibles, made by several different coachbuilders, and most of those looked far better.
Perhaps it has a golden roof? If nothing else, this chopjob does take the focus away from the rear end.
GACK!
That is all.
I like it. It looks better than any 2021 Caddy. Sure the proportions are a bit off, but imagine the Caddy comfort and ride on a cool summer evening, driving along with the top down…
I suspect that the target demographic for this was someone who was in the market for a Mercedes-Benz 450SL, but wanted something domestic, or just simply different.
Looked at from that perspective, it’s not quite as bad as it would first seem.
Just wow. As I look at it, I see that trying to make a good looking 2 seat coupe using short front doors from a 4 door car is just all kinds of wrong. The proportions are completely whacked.
Yup. The proportion is wrong, and it would also be hard to get in and out. Imagine folding your body into the narrow door space while avoiding the top of the windshield. Head bump every time.
Why would you be anymore likely to bump your head getting in this than getting in the version that didn’t get its back doors removed?
What was with this trend to chop Seville’s back then? You see it a lot more commonly with the 75-79 design but the results are just as cringy with the bustleback, they look like clown cars.
As an added bonus it had the V8-6-4 engine!
Well, it makes the regular Seville look good in comparison. Some would call that an accomplishment.
It’s cute.
This can’t be real. It’s actually a clown car. People used to do this sort of thing with Beetles and Minis – as a joke.
It looks like it would pitch on every bump. To complete the experience you’d need circus music or the Laurel and Hardy theme on full blast.
Correction…Expensive Clown Car. It also reminds me of the 2 wheeled car Smokey Stover drove. The Foo Mobile.
https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a5krTmN0QyU/V1TxJrDy7xI/AAAAAAAESwI/-TFkIKurTY4j-X17h6xW-BOyAob8VOASgCLcB/s1600/jghfhefj.jpg
Besides the Honda Element, this has to be the ugliest car ever.
I always hated that rear section. I don’t know who had that idea.
Several months late with this, April 1 was a while ago.
https://driventowrite.com/2021/07/15/shortened-cars-cut-and-shut/
WELL- AT LEAST they made it. Now we can analyze it. It’s definitely not a photo shop job. I’ve seen it, a long time ago. It slipped into the “UGLY” category mainly because you can’t do much with its original design, which I like. I’ve looked at it many times and you know, it’s a “One Timer”, not really desirable, and not worth duplicating.
It looks like it belongs in the circus. Clown-car proportions make it a joke, however well it might have been built.