But the idea of producing a "super car" that would help identify Cadillac as the standard of the world came long before President Dwight D. Eisenhower was seen riding in an Eldorado during his inaugural parade in January 1953. In fact, it can be traced all the way back to 1920s, when Lawrence P. ("L.P.") Fisher, Jr., then president and general manager of the Cadillac Motor Division, authorised a programme to build the most powerful, advanced automobile ever offered. The result was the exquisite Series 452 Cadillac with a massive V16 powerplant, which had sealed its own fate by being announced shortly after the stock market crash of 1929.

It wasn't until after World War II that the time was right to try again, with Cadillac styling, luxury and power leading the way. Inspired by the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, a twin-boomed, twin-engine WWII warplane, Cadillac incorporated tail fins into the rear body stampings of the all-new 1948 models - and the styling theme behind the Fabulous Fifties was born.

Fueled by the overwhelming success of the 1948-49 Cadillacs, GM stylists began variations on the design for a series of show cars that toured the country with the GM Motorama public exhibitions. Leading the pack was the 1953 Cadillac Orleans concept, the first car with true four-door pillarless construction. It featured suicide doors - both the front and rear opened from the centre post - and also a new, curved-glass wraparound windshield that Earl had championed since its inception. Another was the 1953 Cadillac Le Mans show car, a super-luxury, two-seat convertible with "cut-down" doors, hooded headlamps and that same sporty, curved windshield.

These 1948-49 Cadillacs and the '53 Orleans and Le Mans show cars weren't necessarily the direct inspiration behind the first Eldorado, the first production Eldo was developed concurrently with the show vehicles, in the same environment - and became available as the '53 Motorama still toured the nation. Consequently, seeing the new-for-'53 Eldorado in a Cadillac showroom was like seeing a show car that was available for sale to the public.

Designed as a "special sports convertible" that would get Earl's pet wraparound windshield into production, the first Eldorado was a limited edition, hand-crafted droptop designed for the ultra-luxury segment. The man charged by Earl to turn this dream car into a reality was Ed Glowacke, Chief Designer of the Cadillac Studio from 1951-1957, who is known for developing the "Dagmar" bumpers. The 1953 Eldorado's special stampings and "dropped" door design (a unique beltline dip at the rear of the doors) gave it a long, low look - and it actually rode some 3-4 inches lower than a Series 62 Caddy.

Presented by Cadillac as "an automobile that meets the full needs of an American sports car," the new Eldorado's emphasis was clearly on size, power and luxury. Its wide-body stance (with overall width just more than 80 inches) offered up an impressive 63 inches of hip room in the front seat. And there was 51 inches available in the rear, with luxury armrests and recesses cut into in the front seatbacks to provide extra rear legroom.

This large, flashy boulevard cruiser, offered only as a convertible, boasted the most powerful engine available in the industry at the time, a 210-horsepower V8. It featured GM's smooth-shifting Hydra-Matic automatic transmission, power steering, a windshield washer, heater and replaceable oil filter -- the latter three items certainly standard fare today but during this era were much considered luxury features providing comfort and convenience. Also standard on the first Eldorado were whitewall tyres on chrome wire wheels, built-in fog lights, a licence-plate frame and both vanity and side-view mirrors.

The 1953 Eldorado's luxurious pleated leather interior was available in any one of three solid colors or three different two-tone combinations, with plastic leather-look handgrips on the steering wheel that matched the upholstery. A clock and signal-seeking pre-selector radio was included. A smooth, hard metal tonneau cover concealed the folded convertible top (available in black or white rubberised Orlon cloth) when in its stored position. Although buyers could choose from any of the 12 standard Cadillac exterior paint colors, historical records appear to back up the contention that most of the 532 units built and sold in 1953 were painted one of the four special colors exclusive to the Eldorado: Aztek Red, Azure Blue, Alpine White and Black with white inserts.