When most people think of Mary Kay Cadillacs, they think of bright pink. But Mary Kay herself owned a Cadillac that was intentionally left in its original black and silver two-tone exterior finish.
The Pick of the Day is a low-mileage 1981 Cadillac Seville listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a private seller in Torrance, California. (Click the link to view the listing)
“1981 Cadillac Seville opera coupe,” the listing begins. “Mary Kay Ash was the original owner, owner of Mary Kay Cosmetics. Was in the Mary Kay museum, then was in a private museum for many years.”
The Seville model was introduced to the marketplace in 1976 as a small but premium offering. This example comes from the second generation which started in 1980 and rode on General Motors’ front-wheel-drive K-body platform. Underpinnings at the time were similar to the Buick Riviera and the Oldsmobile Toronado. New for this generation was an independent rear suspension.
Showing just 13,877 original miles, this 42-year-old Seville is about as fresh as they come. The listing states that the bumper fillers have been replaced, the Vogue whitewall tires are new, and the air conditioning blows cold. Power comes from a 145-horsepower “L62” 6.0-liter V8 coupled with a column-shifted four-speed automatic transmission. One unique aspect of this engine was its variable-displacement technology which allowed for cylinders to be deactivated for maximum fuel economy.
In line with the car’s personal luxury objective, it came with automatic climate control, cruise control, power windows, a miles-per-gallon sentinel, and woodgrain trim. But perhaps the most important interior feature in this Seville is a brass placard affixed to the glove box door that states, “This car made especially for Mary Kay Ash.” The seller states, “I have a photo of the registration in her name. Beautiful condition!”
Mary Kay passed away in 2001 in Dallas, and it appears the car made its way to museum life shortly thereafter. The Texas registration sticker on the windshield expired in 2003. Incidentally, this very car appears in a video about Mary Kay. Skip to 13:51 in the video at this link.
This car fills a unique niche in the sense that it appeals to both car collectors and Mary Kay cosmetic enthusiasts. Rarely do celebrity-owned vehicles such as this come up for sale from private museums.
The seller is asking $28,500 or best offer for this rare Seville. Just please don’t repaint it pink!
To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.
This may have been “built” for Mary Kay Ash, but it wasn’t done by GM. The 1981 Cadillac Seville was a four door sedan. This is a heavily modified, custom car, see Wikipedia blurb below. Plus, the variable-displacement technology was troublesome & unreliable right from the start. My best offer? Maybe $1,500!
From Wikipedia: “In the late 1970s, Florida coachbuilder, Grandeur Motor Car Company, offered converted Sevilles with neoclassical 1930s styling cues. These sedans were converted into 2-door coupes with an elongated hood, fake spare tire covers on both sides, a small portal window in the rear right section of the vinyl-covered roof, and an upright Rolls-Royce-like grille. An estimated 600 Seville Opera Coupes were produced.[9][10]”
DMs comment sure sends a question about the asking price of $28.5K! Still a unique antique.
Dennis is right. These chopped Sevilles were everywhere in S Florida early 80s. Quality varies and dealers struggled with replacement parts after crash or usage damage. In this cars case, it was a double chop, the front sub frame was lengthened to e Lo gate the front fender and create room for the side mounted wheel and the rear was shortened just aft of the B-pillar greatly reducing the rear seat space. If you’re a fan of Mary Kay, bid away. If you just want a nice Seville, keep looking.
Cruella De Ville is all I can say, I in a weird way love it
Tyson, how could the seller or you spend so much ink on this car talking about its whitewall tires, a/c, p/w (blah, blah, blah) w/o mentioning it is a chopped (some might say butchered) Seville?
That “L62” is more than enough to scare me away.
I know SOOO much about this car, and have personally sat in it while it was at the Mary Kay museum. Thanks Tyson for writing this, just now seeing it! The story goes as this… Mary Kay was at a Liberace show in Vegas and Liberace had one of these…. She went home from that show and ordered herself this one.
Some will always poo poo the work and creativity of others. And what have these nay-sayers done ? I own a 1978 and it will become
a Luxury performance car with a Cadillac V16.
Rapidly onward, Art.