**www.79-85gm-ebodies.org logo****cadlogo**

The Seville's History

Seville Choices Page

The Seville has paralleled that of the Eldorado since Cadillac first introduced it in 1956.

In that year, Cadillac decided to bring out a hardtop version of the Eldorado which had up to then been a convertible. To distinguish between the two models, the convertible was called the Eldorado Biarritz and the hardtop was to be the Eldorado Seville.

So the first Sevilles were not four door sedans as we know them as our years K-Body, but two door hardtops (the Riviera Style) that were actually the same body style as the Eldorado convertable but in a hardtop version. A limited number of Eldorado Brougham 4-door hardtops were built in 1957-58 but the Seville name wasn't used for them. To read the Seville History during that period see
The Eldorado History

1961 was the last year for the name Seville to appear on a Cadillac for 15 years.

A lot had changed in 15 years though...

Imports were a lot smaller than the big Cadillacs that were floating over America's freeways in the early seventies. Getting 8 to 10 mpg during a time of an oil embargo imposed by OPEC, with long lines, higher prices and shortages at the gas pumps, Americans wanted and needed cars that were more fuel efficient than before. Like the imports.

The first generation of a brand new model

Introduced as a mid-year model in 1975 the new Cadillac that appeared was the re-incarnated Seville. At 27" shorter, 8" narrower and 800 lbs lighter than a regular DeVille from 1975, this was the new Seville and featured Oldsmobile's proven 350 cid Gas V8, but it was now equipped with electronic fuel injection, an industry first on the American market.Optional was the 350 cid Diesel V8.

It was decided that the rear wheel drive X-body would be used as a starting point in designing the new Seville. The X-Body included the Nova, Apollo and their cousins which were on a 111 in. wheelbase.

However, changes to this platform were so drastic, including shared components with the F-bodies (Camaro & Firebird) of the 1970's, that an all new designation was given to the platform: the K-body. The General Motors K platform was the designation used for the rear wheel drive Cadillac Seville models from 1975 to 1979.

It used a 114.3 in wheelbase, a double A-arm front suspension and a solid axle and leaf springs in the rear. The platform used unibody construction with a front subframe assembly. It was only available as a 4-dr. Sedan

It's specs came in at:

With the exception of some limited production Fleetwood 75 models, it was also the most expensive. At a list price $12,479, and although it was the smallest Cadillac in 1975, it featured almost every option possible, plus even more options could be specially ordered.

That brings us to our cars

Valid XHTML 1.0 Strict