When it comes to customs, comprehensive builds, especially show-worthy ones, can become very costly very quick. The perfect example of that is this custom Cadillac Eldorado Brougham Station Wagon, which took 15 years to build at the staggering cost of $2.3 million.
Going under the hammer at Mecum’s Indy event in June, the extensively customized car was impressive enough to win the 2019 Autorama Ridler Award. Not only that, but the odometer reads a mere 6 miles (10 km), meaning the winning bidder will be receiving a virtually brand new classic.
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The car features a custom tubular spaceframe chassis, on top of which sits a custom body merging the bottom half of a 1-of-99 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham with the wagon greenhouse of a 1959 Chevy Nomad. In addition to that, the new body was further chopped 18 inches in length, 4 inches in width, and 2 inches in height. The whole process took roughly 4,000 hours to complete, and earned the car its nickname, CadMad, a portmanteau of the vehicles comprising it.
The two-tone paint job, which cost $300,000 alone, is equal parts Fontana Rose and Titanium Silver, with the former adorning the Cadillac base and the latter covering the Chevy top. It features three urethane base coats, four color coats, and no less than six layers of clear coat. Other exterior details include the flying hood mascot, chrome brightwork, and machined 18-inch wheels on white wall tires.
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Inside, Recaro bucket seats from a Cadillac CTS-V are upholstered in Rose leather, as is the rest of the cabin. Hand-painted vertical striped trim adorns the dash and door cards, which is complemented by a set of custom gauges that cost $7,000. To highlight the car’s wagon addition, the cargo floor features a mix of striped tiger wood, figured maple, and African wenge wood paneling that was hand-laid to create a one-of-a-kind pattern.
The center console was also crafted by hand, and features distinct bump-outs for the dash controls. Paired with the bright metal gear lever, custom steering column, and EVOD steering wheel, it all looks surprisingly original, which is a common theme for this build
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Powering the CadMad is a gargantuan 10.3-liter V8, which, amongst a laundry list of other upgrades, features twin 88mm turbochargers. At 7.5 PSI of boost, this engine makes a whopping 1,025 hp (1,039 PS / 764 kW). Some of the mill’s other upgrades include a new block, billet crank caps, bored cylinders, a forged crankshaft, forged pistons with upgraded rings and billet connecting rods, new bearings, billet intake heads, two fuel injectors per cylinder, and a 60-tooth crank trigger ignition system.
All in all, the engine cost $97,000, and it’s bolted to a 4L60E C5 Corvette automatic transmission that sends the V8’s power to the rear wheels. Thankfully, it also has the brakes to slow down all that power, with 6-piston calipers grabbing 14-inch vented rotors by way of an electric brake booster. It also features custom steering components and hand crafted coilover suspension to ensure the drive is stable and safe.