1967-1970
The 1967 Eldorado was unlike every previous Cadillac not only in that it had front-wheel drive but in style and attitude. Cadillac had never before made a coupe with no accompanying sedan (there wouldn't be a four-door front-drive Caddy until the 1980 Seville), and the '67 Eldorado was also the only coupe that wasn't offered as a convertible. And no Cadillac had ever looked like the hidden-headlight, aggressively modern '67 Eldorado, either. Credit GM designer Bill Mitchell for the truly gorgeous, almost arrogant '67 Eldo.
Beneath its skin, the '67 Eldorado had at least as much in common with the Oldsmobile Toronado as it did with any other Caddy. The Toronado had ushered in front-wheel drive to the General Motors lineup the previous year, and most of that car's structure and drivetrain carried over to the Eldo. Most prominent of the shared pieces was the Turbohydramatic three-speed automatic transaxle, which essentially put the transmission beside the longitudinally mounted engine, with power transmitted by a chain. Also coming over from the Toronado was the A-arm front suspension incorporating long torsion bars instead of coil springs and the solid rear axle with leaf springs.
Obviously, though, the Eldorado needed Cadillac power, and it used the same 340 horsepower 429-cubic-inch V8 as other Caddies with changes in the exhaust manifolds, oil pan and accessory drive system to accommodate the peculiar drivetrain.