John Entwistle's Cadillac, which inspired *Big Black Cadillac*, is up for auction at £25,000. The rare 1971 Fleetwood needs work before hitting the road again.

Cadillac owned by The Who bass player heads to auction for £25,000 – but there’s a catch

John Entwistle’s Cadillac, which inspired *Big Black Cadillac*, is up for auction at £25,000. The rare 1971 Fleetwood needs work before hitting the road again.

A Cadillac owned by a bass player for The Who is heading to auction for £25,000 – but there is a catch.

The rare motor played its own part in music history after inspiring John Entwistle’s solo song Big Black Cadillac, released in 1973.

And the rare 1971 Fleetwood Series Seventy-Five is now waiting to be snapped up by a new owner.

But the successful bidder will need to do a bit of re-commissioning before it can return to the road.

Equipped with a 7.7 litre V8 engine, which is allied to Turbo Hydramatic THM400 automatic transmission, the nine-seater limo can hit speeds of over 110mph, as reported by Luxury Auto News.

The motor was supplied new to Entwistle during The Who’s heyday, and it was often seen outside of Keith Moon’s estate.

As he didn’t own a driving license, the musician was ferried around by a chauffeur before selling it in 1979.

Entwistle died in 2002.

The current seller acquired the Cadillac in 1979 and has kept it in their collection for the past 46 years.

Bidding will start on 9 April at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, Cambridge.

H and H Classics, which is hosting the auction, stated: “Part of an eclectic collection for the past forty-six years, the Fleetwood appears to be substantially original.

“Dating from The Who’s heyday and reputedly the inspiration for the John Entwistle song ‘Big Black Cadillac’ (released as part of his 1973 solo album ‘Rigor Mortis Sets In’).

“The Series Seventy-Five could doubtless regale listeners with tales of excess into the wee small hours if only it could talk!

“A rare car in and of itself with a fascinating link to one of the UK’s greatest ever rock bands ‘400 AAA’ will require a degree of re-commissioning before returning to the road.