1966 Cadillac Coupe DeVille Custom Review (video)

Chopped, Shaved and Bagged, that’s Tariq Al Hajeri’s third 66 DeVille, and we take it for a drive

By Shahzad Sheikh

Watch the video of the 1966 Cadillac Coupe DeVille owned by Tariq Al Hajeri by clicking below now.

This sensational custom coupe started out life as a 1966 Cadillac Coupe DeVille. That was the third generation of the DeVille which ran between 1965 and 1970.

66 Cadillac Coupe DeVille Custom

Whilst Tariq has two other 66 Coupe DeVilles his latest acquisition which only arrived from the US about a month ago, is a dramatic custom conversion that he describes at ‘Chopped, Shaved and Bagged’.

66 Cadillac Coupe DeVille Custom

The ‘Chopped’ and ‘Shaved’ parts of that description are of course the most visually arresting. Essentially custom car specialists in the US cut 3-inches from the height of the car by lowering the roof.

66 Cadillac Coupe DeVille Custom

But such is the quality of the work, in terms of refabrication and reprofiling the lines and particularly the C-Pillar, to retain the overall silhouette of the car, that this only becomes obvious when you inevitably knock your head getting in!

66 Cadillac Coupe DeVille Custom

The Shaved takes it to the next level by cleaning up the side profile and ‘shaving’ off the wheel arch trims, swage line trim and even the door handles. Door handles?! How do you get in? There’s a remote key fob (and if that fails, there is a hidden mechanical lever).

66 Cadillac Coupe DeVille Custom

The ‘bagged’ part relates to airbag suspension, which allows it to drop down to such a low ride height. All of these three combined accentuate the cars already tremendous length – 5.7m – and gives the car a sleek, elongated and never-ending profile.

66 Cadillac Coupe DeVille Custom

The custom matte grey paint job with hand-painted stripes gives the car even more flair making this one cool ride.

66 Cadillac Coupe DeVille Custom

Speaking of ‘ride’ how does it? Well extraordinarily well actually. Seeing its low suspension I had expected it to be hard and somewhat jarring, instead it was smooth and surprisingly refined and comfortable.

66 Cadillac Coupe DeVille Custom

The fat whitewall tyres obviously help in this area, but also despite the low ride height, there is still actually plenty of wheel travel available in those massive fenders.

66 Cadillac Coupe DeVille Custom

In addition to that, was the surprising amount of performance from the essentially stock 429, 7.0-litre V8 which originally put out an impressive 340bhp – and appears mostly to still do. The response and acceleration is great, and the brakes after an initially dead patch come in strong with reassuring stopping power.

66 Cadillac Coupe DeVille Custom

Now the handling is what you’d expect, but this is purely a cruiser. Given that, the steering is fingertip light and the turning circle is astonishingly handy – there was no need for the three-point turn I was fully expecting during a U-turn.

66 Cadillac Coupe DeVille Custom

Despite the lower roof there remains decent all-round visibility and this car proves sublimely easy to drive. Of course more importantly than any of that, is just how awesome it is to look at!

66 Cadillac Coupe DeVille Custom

Thanks so much to Tariq for letting us have a go in this amazing ride. He usually attends most of the car events and meets in the UAE, so be sure to say Hi when you see the car!

66 Cadillac Coupe DeVille Custom

Let us know what you thought of this car in the Comments below!

One response to “1966 Cadillac Coupe DeVille Custom Review (video)”

  1. Brady Banks says:

    I love this car, I’ve been into this particular style every since I was a kid and this is as professional as it gets. I would like to know the name of the company that chopped the top. Oh by the way I’m searching for a 66 Cadillac convertible as I write this letter

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