P-38 Influences the Design of Cadillac

Harley Earl was head of General Motors' Art and Color Department in the 20s, 30s and 40s. In 1939 he was permitted a sneak peek at the P-38 Lockheed Lightning at the then top-secret Selfridge Field in Detroit.  Earl thought it was a strikingly beautiful aircraft, and he set about creating a new Cadillac that would take its styling cues from the P-38.

He was so impressed with the P-38 design that he borrowed heavily from it to create an innovative model for their new Cadillac.  The models featured bulbous, bullet-like noses, pontoon front fenders, the warplane's enormous wraparound windscreen...and, of course, those now-famous "tail fins" -- which were directly influenced by the unusual twin booms of the P-38 and their dominant fins.  These tailfins became the signature for Cadillac and set GM styling trends for many years to come. While there were structural reasons for the design of the fins on the P-38, the fins on the Cadillac were strictly for "style" and were intended to suggest speed and flight in the car.  The '48 Cadillac was the spirit of the "P-38 Lightning" -- on the ground instead of in the air.