Having established a reputation for the precision manufacture of high-quality motor cars and leading the industry with its innovative electric starting and lighting systems in 1912, Cadillac pushed the technical envelope further in 1915 with the first mass-produced V8 engine.

Designed by D.

McCall White, a Scottish-born engineer, the new L-head engine used two cast-iron blocks with integral heads, mounted on a common crankcase of aluminum and copper alloy.

With the cylinder banks placed directly opposite each other, the engine also employed Cadillac founder Henry Leland’s preferred fork-and-blade connecting rods.

The first left-hand drive Cadillac, the Type 51 of 1915, had a chassis similar to the prior four-cylinder models, with a platform-type, leaf-sprung rear suspension.

From 1915 to 1918, the V8 engine was carefully refined with a manifold redesign and lighter pistons, while the chassis was successively strengthened and lengthened.

For 1918, detachable cylinder heads were al...