One of the most famous cars in history is the Cadillac Coupe De Ville, which was easily one of the most sinister and stylish cars ever built.

This name has been part of the GM lineup since 1949, but it no longer makes its way to the market. The final time we saw a De Ville was in 2005, even though the Cadillac DTS was also a De Ville model. In fact, DTS stands for De Ville Touring Sedan, which is no longer part of our Cadillac world.

The Largeness Was Part of the Charm

The first year that we saw the Cadillac De Ville was in 1949, and that car was a large luxury sedan that included the French word for “city,” which is what De Ville means. When this car came to be, the Fleetwood was discontinued, and this new model took over as the flagship sedan for the band.

It didn’t take long for the Cadillac Coupe De Ville to become a car that was chosen by politicians, spiritual leaders, and movie stars to drive around or be driven around in. This gave the car much more prominence and public exposure than it would have been given if it was never used by the wealthy or famous people in our world.

By 1955, this incredible car was a large four-door sedan that was powered by an amazing engine. This engine was a 7.7-liter V8 that could offer you 375 horsepower when you were out on the road. The De Ville would outsell the competitors by amazing numbers. Soon, this Cadillac was one of the hottest-selling flagship cars of its time.

Things Began to Sour

With the impressive sales numbers, Cadillac began to focus on profit and shirked quality materials in some of the models of this amazing car. By 1969 shortcuts were used in the cabin, and materials were not as nice as they once were. The Cadillac Coupe De Ville used a massive 8.2-liter engine by 1977, and it had a new grill, built-in parking lights, and a special options package.

This Cadillac Received Massive Updates in 1980

Not that the De Ville wasn’t updated from 1949 to 1979, but it never received the same package of updates and impressive qualities that you would find for the 1980 model. This version received a complete makeover for the exterior, and this car was then offered in both the coupe version and as a four-door sedan.

This new version of the flagship Cadillac model was offered with a d’Elegance upgrade package that gave this amazing car chrome moldings and a hinged roof. If this package was added to the car, a new grille design and small electroluminescent lights were included.

The upgraded 1980 version of the Cadillac Coupe De Ville was powered by a 4.2-liter V6 engine that was sourced from Buick, and it was the first time that a V8 was not used in a Cadillac. While this new engine was certainly worthy of mention, by 1982, this car received a 4.1-liter V8 engine that would mate with a four-speed automatic transmission and bring back the V8 power of this car.

Not long after the new model was offered, complaints of quality and functionality began to drop off, and the upgraded engine was needed to give this car the added power necessary to keep us interested in this amazing Cadillac.

Other Models Try to Take Over the Market

The Cadillac Coupe De Ville faced threats from other models by 1990, with Lexus and Nissan unveiling luxury models that were made to be more advanced than the Cadillac car.

The newcomers to the market brought more tech and the appearance that was more attractive to many drivers. These new models made it hard for Cadillac to sell very many of the De Ville models. Unfortunately, this meant the end of the coupe version in the Cadillac lineup.

Some of the Best De Ville Models Through the Years

1973 Cadillac De Ville

One of the most successful years for this Cadillac car was 1973, with record sales of 216,243 models for the year. This version of the car had a new energy-absorbing bumper and wider grilles with more intricate lines. This is the car you often think of today when someone mentions the Cadillac Coupe De Ville. This car is one of the most popular and impressive versions of the classic and highly-regarded cars that would make it on the roads.

1968 Cadillac De Ville

A finer mesh was added to the front grilles with an outer section that offered a step-down design. This car gave us better rear-end styling and an elongated hood that stretched by 8.5 inches to make room for new windshield wiper-washers. There were 20 exterior paint colors offered for this car, and the cherry on top was the 472 cubic inch V8 engine that gave this car 375 horsepower.

1964 Cadillac De Ville

If a boost in power was what you wanted to see from previous models, the 1964 version of the Cadillac Coupe De Ville was the model that brought the upgraded power desired. This car came with a 429 cubic inch V8 engine that made 340 horsepower for the drive. This was the first year that Cadillac offered this car as a convertible, and this was a model that sold in more than 110,000 units.

1963 Cadillac De Ville

This 1963 version of the large Cadillac car came with a ton of upgraded styling features for an amazing look and ride. This car had a bolder and longer appearance with tons of chrome elements that could show off. If you were to find a De Ville that you might want to rebuild, this would be the year that you should choose. There were so many character elements that you’ll turn heads once the project is done.

The Cadillac Coupe De Ville may not be part of the market any longer, but it’s a car that still carries a ton of cache and respect in the automotive world.