In 1971 Cadillac introduced the forth generation Coupe de Ville with hitherto record braking 62 inches of front shoulder room and 64 inches rear shoulder room. Novel features included windscreen wiper blades that were hidden from view belw the bonnet / hood line when not in use.

A 375 hp 7.7 litre / 472 cui V8, carried over from the third generation Coupe de Ville, with three speed automatic transmission powered the 4,900lb vehicle that measured 225.8 inches from stem to stern.

Legend has it that the third placed Cadillac Coupe de Ville of Ron Herisko in the 1971 Cannonball Run, by dint of traveling a further distance between New York City and Redondo Beach, California had manged to average 82 mph for the journey as against the 80 mph Dan Gurney and Brock Yates averaged in their Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona. In 1972 Steve Behr, Bill Canfield and Fred Olds won the Cannonball out right driving a Cadillac Coupe de Ville.

Thanks for joining me on this “Faster Than A Ferrari” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !