Mary Kay Pink: 1988 Cadillac Allante
Mary Kay originally approached a Lincoln dealership, wanting a car painted pink to match her line of blush from her successful cosmetics line. But when she was told by a salesman to go home and get her husband and then they would talk, she approached a Cadillac dealership with the same request instead. They obliged, and that is how the Mary Kay Pink Cadillacs began in the late sixties. Here is a 1988 Cadillac Allante painted in Mary Kay Pink for sale here on eBay in Chula Vista, California.
According to the seller, even Pininfarina was hesitant to paint any Allante pink, stating they did not paint sports cars pink. It took a two-day meeting between Pininfarina, GM executives, and Mary Kay before they could ever be painted that color. You see, Pininfarina of Italy supplied the bodies and interiors of these cars, and they were then flown to the United States in specially modified 747s to be assembled with the Cadillac engine and chassis. There were only 53 Mountain Laurel Pearl (Mary Kay Pink) Allantes produced, and 37 of those were built in the 1993 model year. Many of those were repainted by Cadillac dealers when the leases ended, so there are probably very few Mary Kay Pink Allantes in existence. While the seller gives a lot of information about Mary Kay Pink Allantes, he/she does not give a lot of information about this particular car. However, the pictures portray it as an amazing looking vehicle.
The interior is burgundy and appears to be in great condition. The car is considered a roadster, and only seats two people. Included are 10-way power Recaro seats hand-fitted with Italian leather and a unique combination of analog and digital instrumentation. The only optional item on an Allante was a cellular phone, which it appears this one does not have. Talk about an array of buttons, there is a multitude of buttons to operate the radio, climate control, interior and exterior lights, mirrors, and wipers/washers.
The engine is a high-output 4.1 liter V-8 with sequential port fuel injection. The engine originally produced 170 horsepower. It is mated with a unique F7 four-speed automatic transmission with overdrive. The car has been driven a distance of 69,500 miles.
The Allante roadster came with a hardtop, as well as a soft convertible top. The soft top included a power mechanism. Both tops included electrically heated rear glass defroster. In addition, the folding top included a boot cover. The car has been in Southern California since new. The seller has spent over $21,000 maintaining and servicing the car at the Cadillac dealer, so there is probably nothing that needs repairing on this car. So if you are looking for something out of the ordinary, this could be the car for you.
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Comments
Eh, where did this engine compartment photo come from? It does not match the one shown in the eBay ad, definitely Not from this car….
Would be fun for me in any other color, just can’t see myself driving a pink car, even to a show. Exception: A car owned or raced by Donna Mae Mims, I’d drive or race vintage events with pride.
The hood ornament suggests that’s the engine bay of an Oldsmobile.
The author threw that “before” picture in to help show you what a difference the pink paint makes.
that is the correct engine and photo, what is your point?
Settle down, Sally.
Bill has updated it so the previous wrong picture no longer appears (keep scrolling down and you’ll see his correction statement
(👇🏽This way, please)
It was my car. You are wrong and the photos are all of the same vehicle.
I have a 1987 Allanté and that is what the engine compartment looks like
Mercifully, mine is silver, not pink
Try again with the photo….
Good luck finding parts for this car. That’s all.
My Father drove an Allante for many years. Not hard to find parts on most things , from a Cadillac dealer, lots of club support as well.
A great highway cruiser, comfortable and responsive. Around town you will get a lot of attention, having the hardtop option is a big plus for cold weather climates.
Undervalued in the collectible market, they can have electrical gremlins but he had driven well over 100k miles before he sold it.
I am glad his wasn’t Pink!
There is a good network of parts suppliers for the cars
There are a few things that may be an issue going forward. GM destroyed the molds for the bumper covers during the bankruptcy!
Still, parts for the Allanté are in much better supply than parts for the XLR.
Decklid fit says it all…
The gold chain license plate frame also says a lot.
Not as much as that Supreme plate says. Which alas, isn’t included in the sale… all for the best- as both are severely out of place on that car
I would not be ashamed to drive a pink Cadillac. Nope, not at all.
I’m sure $20k of those repair bills went toward that 4100. Too bad it’s not a 4.5L, at minimum.
The Allanté 4.1 is not the same engine as the disastrous HT4100
The Allanté 4.1 has the improved, reinforced block shared with the 4.5, different heads, manifolds, cams, and induction system. It shares virtually no parts with the 4100
Thanks for the info! I was totally misinformed!
I recall a story from back in the day about how these cars existed because Mary Kay neglected to specify which Cadillacs consultants could choose, and savvy consultants chose a $60K Allante over lesser Cadillacs that cost half as much. I wonder if it’s true?
I think from what I recall these were only awarded to the very top MK sellers. You had to move a lot of lipstick to get an Alllante.
Bolt in an LS6 and go out and look for macho burly dudes in tank tops at the drag strip.
*I mean to race
With a screen name like that, you can clarify all you want but we all know 🤣
The 4.1 V8 in these cars absolutely sucked. They weren’t as unreliable as the V8-6-4, but not much better. I think the 3.4L six in my year-older BMW makes more power.
I’ll agree- the 4100 is the absolute worst. However, it’s been my experience with the V8-6-4, once that feature was disconnected, as many were when new- they performed quite well. I have two ‘81 models with over 150k each, still running strong with no major repairs since new….
Again, it is not the HT4100 that made 130hp
This very different Allanté 4.1 generates 170 HP, which was decent for the 1980s, if not breathtaking
Sorry, for the wrong engine picture. Not sure what happened. I have updated with the correct picture.
that is the correct engine and photo, what is your point?
This could have been a GREAT sportscar if GM had let its corvette division design it. Front engine. Underpowered until 1993. Only offered with a slush box. GM had to guarantee its resale value because it depreciated so quickly.
As with so many GM products that could have been destined for greatness….
It was actually a pretty decent car. GM’s bean counters killed it, along with the Reatta and Fiero, because they had nothing better to do one rainy Thursday
They did the XLR based on the Corvette and did not sell as well as the Allanté
Pink with a burgundy interior… yuck.
Right?! They should have stitched the interior in blue or green. What were they thinking???!!!!!
white or black actually.
Yes, white or black would have been viable options, but burgundy was chosen bc it’s in the same color family and more in-line with the target audience 🤦🏻♂️
Pink with any color interior…yuck.
As someone from the UK i think these were a good looking car, the Burgundy interior i like a lot, the pink exterior is ok in historical context, would i buy a new car in pink…probably not. I know they had mechanical/electrical issues but on looks alone they were a winner in my eyes.
As someone from the UK, I’m afraid you are very used to cars with mechanical/electrical/fluid system issues but with great looks.
Lot of people didnt like GM getting rid of the functional vent windows on many cars starting in ’68 – aka FULL door glass styling aka astro ventilation. Can you imagine the outrage back then if GM did what was done here? – making the vent window a phony one that didn’t open, just to be able to hang
very ugly plastic mirrors the wrong way & in the wrong spot.
At least it still has hidden wipers, but they too go away as well in the 90’s. Go figure.
The Pininfarina design of the passenger compartment has minimal obstruction from the roof structure giving great visibility for almost 360 degrees
The triangle glass and it’s framing are structural. They were eliminated in 1993 to cut costs and the doors are less rigid. (They also got rid of Pininfarina’s side mirrors and replaced them with units from a lumina)