The 1965 Cadillac Coupe DeVille piloted by Jon Hamm’s Don Draper on Mad Men was just sold at an auction of Mad Men props. The classic American executive transport brought $39,500 at Screenbid.com, plus a 24 percent commission that brought the total purchase price to $48,980. Plus tax, of course.
The listing confirms this is the actual car used in the shooting of the show, but provides little other information. The Cadillac is listed “as is,” with no details such as its mileage or running condition.
Documentation from General Motors’ Heritage Center shows the car stretches 224 inches in length – eighteen and a half feet! – and is 79.9 inches wide. That’s within half an inch in both directions of a modern Chevrolet Suburban, but in a two-door coupe.
The ’65 DeVille features a 340-horsepower 7-liter (429 cubic inches in the parlance of the day) V8 and three-speed automatic transmission. While the car’s power may look middling in the face of prodigious modern horsepower ratings, the old big block’s torque rating of 480 lb.-ft. stands up against even contemporary comparisons.
The average value of ’65 DeVilles is only $13,000, according to classic car insurance company Hagerty. That suggests that just as Mad Men inspired a revival of mid-century modern style, it also inspired a bit of over-enthusiasm by the winning bidder.
No matter. When he’s behind the wheel, the new owner will likely feel as cool as Don Draper ever did.
Photos by Screenbid.com