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Long before she became Queen Elizabeth II, a young Princess Elizabeth toured Canada in a Cadillac built just for her. That car, a 1951 Cadillac Series 62 Custom Royal Parade Convertible, is now crossing the block at no reserve at Barrett-Jackson's 2026 Las Vegas Auction. It's the kind of one-off history lesson that rarely surfaces in the collector market, and it arrives with enough documentation and royal ephemera to fill a small museum case.
General Motors built this Cadillac at the factory specifically as a parade vehicle, then shipped it north through General Motors Canada ahead of the princess's 1951 Royal Tour. Under the hood sits the original 331-cubic-inch OHV V-8, backed by a heavy-duty four-speed Hydramatic automatic and fitted with a factory four-barrel carburetor, a setup GM used on only one other 1951 Cadillac. Power steering, power windows, and power-adjustable front seats were all specified for comfort on long parade routes, while an oversized radiator kept the engine happy during hours of low-speed crawling through crowds.
The car's signature feature is its clear bubbletop enclosure, fabricated by an aviation manufacturer so spectators could still see the princess while she stayed shielded from the weather. Finished in black over a red leather interior, the Cadillac still wears its original commemorative dash plaque noting its royal service.
Barrett-Jackson notes the sale includes the original build invoice, period photographs and books documenting the princess's time with the car, and a rhinestone-and-silver replica of the George IV State Diadem, the crown most associated with Queen Elizabeth II's public image. It's a rare case where a car's paperwork might be nearly as compelling as the machine itself.
Placing a number on a car like this is tricky, since nothing else compares directly. Hagerty's valuation tools peg a standard number-three-condition (Good) 1951 Cadillac Series 62 convertible at roughly $58,200 today, with the top recorded sale over the past three years reaching $150,700 and 54 examples changing hands at public auction in that span. Barrett-Jackson itself sold a 1949 Series 62 convertible for $52,800 in late June 2026, underscoring steady demand for early-fifties Cadillac ragtops. None of those figures account for factory one-off construction or royal provenance, both of which tend to push a car well outside standard price-guide territory.
Cadillac's postwar design language keeps drawing collector interest well beyond this parade car. Motorious recently covered another rare factory-adjacent Cadillac, the One-Off 1953 Cadillac 'Elegante' Concept, which headlined Kruse Auctions' 56th Annual Auburn Auction. Collectors chasing cars with celebrity or historical pedigree might also appreciate Amelia Earhart's restored 1937 Cord 812 Phaeton, another prewar-era machine whose value rests as much on its story as its sheet metal.
Whichever bidder ultimately wins this Cadillac, they'll be taking home more than a well-restored convertible. They'll own a piece of royal history that happened to ride on a Hydramatic transmission.
