The unique Cadmad restomod that combined a 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham and a 1956 Chevy Nomad in a single car body will soon hit an auction expected to win $500,000 or so. The creator claims it cost more than $2.3 million to build, so that almost sounds like a bargain. Almost.
The project spanned over a period of 15 years and demanded 4,000 hours of work. The paint job alone came in at $300,000 and the engine added $97,000.
It didn’t help that Cadillac had only ever made 99 Eldorado Brougham units – finding one for the build was its own challenge. Once procured, the tuner chopped the roof by 5.1 cm (2 inches) and made the body 46 cm (18 in) shorter and 11.4 cm (4.5 in) narrower. The Nomad donated the top, while the front and the rear end stayed stock Cadillac.
The body was given a complex 13-layer finish of pink and titanium grey, the latter sourced from the original Cadillac palette of 1961. A custom chassis with height-adjustable suspension was also fabricated along with a massive 10.4-liter V8 outputting 1,025 PS (1,011 hp / 754 kW). Cadillac CTS-V were put inside, and the interior space was trimmed in tigerwood, curly maple and African wenge.
Despite being the only car of its car on the planet and having won a prestigious award, the Cadmad is expected to fetch from $450,000 to $500,000 at the upcoming auction in the USA – barely one-fifth of its original cost.
