1 of 10 Chevrolet El Morocco convertibles crops up on sale

An exceedingly rare 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air stylized back in the era to resemble the much pricier Cadillac Eldorado will be up for bidding in the USA on May 17. There are no price estimates, but Mecum had already sold it before for a cool $220,000.

Back in 1956, U.S. entrepreneur Reuben Allender felt that the market needed a vehicle with Cadillac charms for a fraction of the price. In case you are wondering, cars like this hadn’t been truly available to the masses until Cadillac Seville came out in 1975. 

However, Allender wasn’t prepared to wait. He took a normal Chevrolet Bel Air and outfitted it with stainless-steel rear side fins to make it look closer to the Eldorado. He also redesigned the front grille and the bumper, adding two rocket-shaped trim bits. The resulting car became known as the Chevy El Morocco.

The example seen here draws its power from a 4.7-liter Small Block V8 engine. It sends 198 PS (195 hp / 146 kW) to the rear wheels. Conflicting reports say between 2 and 10 such cars were produced in the year 1957 (watch the video for another example). The one on sale is pristine with 125 km (78 miles) under the belt after undergoing a full restoration for a retro car event.