2008 Cadillac XLR: The Luxury Roadster Experience

Part Cadillac, part Corvette

The disadvantage of a small company, like American Motors, was that if they misjudged the market, like with the Pacer and Matador Coupe, they ended up on the ER with pneumonia. In contrast, a big company with lots of cash behind it, like General Motors, if they mess up on a product or service, they might get a case of the sniffles. Such is the case of this week’s spot, a 2008 Cadillac XLR Platinum Edition.

The Cadillac XLR is not a Chevrolet Corvette by name, but it is considered a “Corvette in a tuxedo” because it shares the same chassis, structure, and manufacturing plant as the C6 Corvette. Produced between 2004 and 2009, the XLR is a luxury roadster with a Cadillac Northstar V8, specialized styling, and a power-retractable hardtop. Car and Driver magazine clocked 0-60 mph in 4.7 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 13 seconds flat and called it “A Vette that’s gone to Cadillac’s finishing school.” When new, base models originally started around $75,000 to $82,000, depending on the model year. High-performance “XLR-V” trims commanded a significant premium, originally starting between $97,000 and $111,000.

This wasn’t Caddy’s first shot at a roadster. Remember the Allanté? From 1987 to 1993, the hand-made car’s manufacturing process was way over the top. The bodies were made in Italy, loaded on a Boeing 747, and shipped back to the U.S. for final assembly. So, with lessons learned, they went a different direction with the XLR. GM’s goal was to go right after the Mercedes-Benz SL roadster, and to do that, it would have to take a drastic departure from conventional GM products, so they decided to build the XLR alongside the Chevrolet Corvette at its Bowling Green Assembly Plant.

Well, sort of alongside. Not on an assembly line like the Vette. In a treatment typically reserved for the likes of Bugatti, GM built special floor space to park a “kit car” in a dedicated work station and then engineered a way to route all componentry to that area. So instead of creating all this profit-sucking overhead for a low-volume vehicle, the XLR did a great job intelligently leveraging GM’s resources.

But not good enough. 2009 was the last year for the XLR. Total production for the Cadillac XLR was approximately 15,460 units, falling short of its 5,000–7,000 annual target. US sales peaked early, around 3,700 in 2005, before falling to only 787 in its final year, leading to its discontinuation. The supercharged XLR-V variant was even rarer, with only 2,188 units produced from 2006 to 2009.

While this spot was one I found in Florida on a trip, I saw another a couple of weekends ago at a Green Bay show, and my buddy Darrel Burnett and I agreed that they are kind of an undiscovered car as far as values go. According to Hagerty, examples in #3 Condition can be had from anywhere from $17,000 to $27,000, with #1 Concours condition cars hovering around 75 grand. Get one now before they become discovered.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out this week’s spot. Come back next Sunday for another one of my finds, along with some of its history. Have a great rest of your weekend and a great week ahead.

The 2009 Cadillac XLR Platinum Edition was the final, top-tier iteration of Cadillac’s luxury retractable hardtop roadster, featuring the 320-hp 4.6L Northstar V8, revised styling, and upgraded interior materials.

, with production concluding in March of that year.
Market Position: It was considered an ultra-luxury, low-volume roadster (built at the same Bowling Green plant as the Corvette).
Performance: Accelerates 0–60 mph in approximately 5.8

Under valued