This Historic 1990 Cadillac Concept Car Is Headed to the Crusher

At the 1990 Chicago Auto Show, visitors were greeted by the future of American luxury cars: The Cadillac Aurora concept. This rounded sedan would prove a surprisingly accurate stab at the cars of tomorrow, exhibiting many features that'd be found on Cadillacs to come. But it's been 34 years since then, and General Motors has no more use for the landmark sedan—which it has sent off to its almost certain destruction.

The Eldorado-sized Aurora was a groundbreaking concept that exemplified both a future we wouldn't see and one we would. It probed a softer design language that wouldn't be explored on Cadillac production cars, and if anything more resembles subsequent Chryslers. Outside of that, GM's forecast was pretty good, because the Aurora touted many features that have since become commonplace even in economy cars.

The Aurora was unusual for a concept car in that it was effectively a functional prototype according to press releases archived on Dean's Garage. It was built from the front-wheel-drive platform used by the Allante, but had its 4.5-liter fuel-injected «High Technology» V8 turned longitudinally. That let it dump its 200 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque (Cadillac suggested the potential for more) through either a four-speed automatic transmission or a six-speed ZF manual, which a center differential split between all four wheels. Though the differentials were all open, the Aurora featured rudimentary traction control that used both the anti-lock brake and cylinder deactivation systems to limit wheelspin.

It wasn't the only trick the Aurora had up its sleeve, either. GM gave it something called «Computer Command Ride,» which is an over-the-top name for a form of adaptive damping that adjusted firmness with speed. It would've complemented the comfort of extra-wide seats and two-zone front-row climate control, which were paired with other features that'd actually make it to production cars.

Like many cars of today, the Aurora had both steering wheel and voice controls for an onboard cellular car phone, and a gauge cluster-mounted navigation display that's a cousin of GM's modern HUD-based systems. Because it was 1990 though, it operated using the