1940 LaSalle Series 50

Sold $61,600 USD

• Offered from the Steve Plunkett collection
• One of just 598 produced in the last year of LaSalle production
• Formerly owned by noted enthusiast Jim Miller
• Meticulously maintained, high-quality restoration in its original colors
• A CCCA Full Classic

Nineteen-forty marked the final year of production for Cadillacs 13-year-old junior marque, the LaSalle. LaSalle exited the world with a bang, however, offering two different lines, the Series 50 and Series 52 Special, with the former externally differentiated by a slightly different hood design and additional chrome trim along the hood and beltline, among other small details. Both featured fresh, new modern styling, and both were among the most beautiful American cars of the year and with a 130-horsepower, 322-cubic-inch V-8, good performers as well. The Series 50 Convertible Coupe was a particularly rare car, with only 598 built.

Per its build record, a copy of which is included in the file, the Convertible Coupe offered here was originally shipped in February 1940 to the Dietrich Motor Car Company of Allentown, Pennsylvania, finished as it sits today in Long Key Green Iridescent over Evergreen leather interior, and equipped with a heater and without running boards, by this point an optional feature. It was later acquired by the noted Canadian enthusiast, Jim Miller of Baden, Ontario, who was much respected for his knowledge and eye for quality when it came to the 1940s to 1950s American automobiles that he avidly collected and sold.

Mr. Miller sold the LaSalle to renowned Cadillac collector Steve Plunkett, in 2002, and it has now remained in the good hands of his collection in London, Ontario, for 23 years. During that time its high-quality restoration has been very well maintained, with select invoices on file, and is presented in the excellent cosmetic and mechanical condition expected of an automobile from this collection; Mr. Plunkett notes, proudly, that there is nary a paint chip to be found, and that even the radio works properly. Recently, in preparation for sale, the car has been fitted with a set of brand new tires.

An especially attractive example of the beautiful, well-engineered, and scarce final LaSalle, this car would be a wonderful bookend to the inaugural 1927 model in ones collection or could well stand on its own as a superb example of this one-time Cadillac stablemate. It boasts excellent quality and, of course, nearly a quarter-century in one of the Cadillac hobbys finest private collections.To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/auctions/hf26/.