Description
The Millbrook Sale | Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire
Viewing: Tues 2nd December from 12pm
Auction: Wed 3rd December from 9am
Location: Millbrook Proving Ground, Station Lane, Bedford MK45 2JH
1979 Courier Cadillac 'Spezial' Coupe
Robert Maidment's unique tribute to the Mercedes-Benz 540K Spezial Roadster
Estimate
£75, 000 - £90, 000
Registration No: HLN 827V
Chassis No: 6S69B8Q493526
MOT: September 2026
Designed and built by Robert Maidment under the auspices of his Courier Products company
Featured in John Heilig's authoritative tome 'The Cadillac Century' as a dream car and the subject of a multi-page article in Classic & Sportscar magazine
Test driven by Chris Snowdon of Mithril Racing around Goodwood who likened the experience to piloting a Bentley Brooklands
Fuel-injected 6. 6 litre V8 engine (300bhp/ 400lbft) allied to automatic transmission
Air-conditioning, power steering, cruise control, 'soft close' bootlid and other amenities
A glorious 'one off' which proved too expensive to productionise
'We consider the car to be one of the best looking neo-classics ever built' (Wesley Peterson, editor of Car Collector magazine).
The 1980s, a decade of big hair, big dreams, and big attitude. A car enthusiast and the proprietor of Courier Products (a specialist engineering company), Robert Maidment was better placed than most to turn his four-wheeled fantasy into reality. An admirer of the fearsomely extravagant, late 1930s Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadsters, he decided to create a modern day tribute with the intention of putting it into limited, handbuilt production. Undeterred by their lack of motor industry experience, Maidment and his fellow designers identified the first generation Cadillac Seville as possessing a similar wheelbase to the 540K not to mention a host of desirable ‘mod cons’ (power steering, automatic transmission, air-conditioning, cruise control and auto dipping etc). Via a lot of ingenious metalworking, a donor 1979 Seville was artfully reclothed in aluminium but without compromising its structural integrity. The drivetrain was moved back in the chassis to better ape the proportions of the Mercedes-Benz and the passenger cell reduced to two seats. The steering, suspension and brakes were recalibrated to make allowance for the 400lb lower kerb weight and the dashboard narrowed in keeping with the similarly slimmed down bulkhead. Perhaps inevitably the project made a mockery of its initial timeframe and budget. Indeed, it may well never have seen completion had Maidment not managed to temporarily repurpose the Coupe as a ‘test bed’ for Courier Products’ frictionless hinges.
An inveterate tinkerer, he proudly ‘finished’ the Courier Cadillac in 1990 but could not resist developing it further. Thus, the original 5. 7 litre V8 engine was supplanted by a more potent 6. 6 litre unit developing some 300bhp / 400lbft of torque. Put through its paces at the MIRA test track, the swept-tailed two-seater proved capable of 125mph and impressive acceleration. Aided by a limited slip differential and its uprated running gear, the Coupe drew considerable praise from Chris Snowdon of Mithril Racing when he got behind the wheel during 1996: “The car is very impressive. It handles like the current Bentley Brooklands and that is quite a compliment. It is beautifully neutral on the circuit, handling Goodwood’s ultra high-speed corners feeling nicely balanced with only a hint of reassuring understeer when you really push hard”. For all its finesse the Courier Cadillac’s greatest stumbling block was the man hours it took to create which Maidment estimated at 6, 000! He had initially hoped to sell copies of ‘HLN 827V’ for half the price of a Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit or Bentley Brooklands. However, it soon became clear that he would have to charge twice as much to even break even! Although, invited to display the Coupe in Cadillac showrooms on the other side of The Pond with a view to eliciting orders, Maidment never built another. Instead, he documented the trials and tribulations surrounding the car in a book called ‘Sidetracked, A True Life Motoring Saga’ which was sold to benefit the motoring charity BEN.
Further immortalised as a dream car (complete with a three-page spread) in John Heilig’s authoritative tome ‘The Cadillac Century’, the two-seater has covered 48, 000 miles since its completion (but only 36, 000 of those with the larger powerplant aboard). Purchased by the vendor from Robert Maidment’s family following his death in 2011, the two-seater has been regularly MOT tested over the past fourteen years with the current certificate valid until September 2026. A striking machine that turns heads wherever it goes and a true labour of love for its creator, the unique Courier Cadillac has been compared to one of Mulliner Park Ward’s products such is its quality and attention to detail. Meriting an article in Cadillac’s own magazine and given the manufacturer’s blessing to use its badging, the bespoke two-seater two-seater has been featured in publications around the globe mostly recently the September 2024 issue of Classic & Sportscar magazine. Offered for sale with V5C Registration Document and history file.
** Bidding will take place live at the venue, online via our H&H website, by telephone and commission - T&Cs apply**
Parking and entry into the auction is free for auction attendees with a catalogue, available at the door.
Catalogues can be purchased for £20 (admits 2 people).
