Taking its name from the celebrated 19th Century explorer, who had amongst other things established the site of what would become Detroit, the Cadillac Automobile Co.

was established in 1902 to participate in the infant and perceived (extremely accurately) lucrative motor car industry.

On the board was one Henry Leland, a dynamic engineer and businessman who had already made a name for himself in revolutionising precision production techniques and whose expertise was sought for applying these skills to the new industry, an industry in which Cadillac was later to claim to set “The Standard of the World”.

The first production car, the Model A, was powered by a single cylinder, horizontal engine of about 1 1/2 litres, mounted under the floor and driving through a two-speed epicyclic gearbox with chain-drive to the rear axle, a basic but successful design which Cadillac retained for about five years.

The Model K of 1906 saw the engine bore size increased to 5 ins and the new model was ...