CADILLAC COUPE DE VILLE

Not all classics tested their mettle on the strip, and one that certainly had nothing to prove was Wayne Hanson’s stunning blush-pink Cadillac Coupe de Ville – the latest in a line of seven Caddies owned by the enthusiast. “I’m a bit of a Cadillac man,” he jokes. “But this is what I’ve been after for a long while – it’s got the right colour scheme, two doors, a hardtop – it’s just want I wanted. It’s finished in Mountain Laurel and is all-original apart from one repaint, which was done recently in the States.

“Elvis had one custom painted in 1955, and the factory, liking the idea of a pink Caddy, brought out this version in ’56. It’s a very subtle pink – not like the later cars. It’s got all power options: power seats, power steering, electric windows, plus the Autronic Eye – a system for automatically dipping the headlamps when there’s oncoming traffic.”

After finding a car in his ideal specification, there isn’t much Hanson wants to do to his Caddy. “But there is a tear in one of the seats,” he says. “I just came back from a visit to SMS Auto Fabrics in Oregon and bought a roll of the fabric, so I’m going to change that small section. It’ll look original again. Eventually, I may get the car resprayed – it’s got a few issues here and there, and I’d like it to be pristine.”

“It was finished in satin black and no-one paid a bit of attention to it, so I thought I would return it to its original livery”