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King Olav’s Cadillac Returned


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King Olav’s Cadillac Returned

Business

Category: Automobile / Transport

The fully restored 1951 limousine was unveiled as part of Norwegian National Motor Day.

King Olav V’s 1951 Cadillac Series 75 Limousine has been returned from the U.S. to Norway, restored to near-new condition, and unveiled on the Norwegian National Motor Day, June 6, 2015.

The King had bought the Cadillac in 1951, and it became his favorite car. While still Crown Prince, his son, King Harald V, donated the car to the International Disabilities Foundation (IDF) for fundraising jointly with the Sons of Norway. The car was used in Scandinavian-American events before it was given to the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, Iowa, in 1994.

In 2012, Harry Kjensli, President of AMCAR, the American Car Club of Norway, contacted Vesterheim to indicate the club’s interest in acquiring and restoring the car as an addition to the collection of royal cars intended for display at a future National Motor Museum, most likely an extension of Norsk Vegmuseum (“Norwegian Roads Museum”) at Fåberg, three miles north of Lillehammer. Steve Johnson, the Vesterheim Executive Director, recalls a favorable reaction. With 18,000 members, a successful magazine, and a hundred affiliate clubs throughout Norway, AMCAR had the resources, manpower, and incentive to restore the car and make it viewable in Norway.

Source: Norwegian American Weekly

Published: November 6, 2015