Remember that time Cadillac made the most epic luxury car in the world, and then left us all hot and bothered with our hopes crushed? This is the Cadillac Sixteen Concept, and it would have crushed the Rolls Royce Phantom back in 2003… if it had been real, but it wasn’t.

A nod to top-of-the-line Cadillacs of old, the Sixteen Concept was a functional prototype complete with a bespoke V-16 engine. That’s sixteen cylinders, displacing a massive 13.2L (830ci), that produce 1,000hp and and 1,000 ft/lbs of torque, all without the aid of any forced induction. There hasn’t been another modern production engine like it, and the probably won’t ever be.

Sure, this thing definitely looks a bit GM 2000’s-tastic when you look at it now, especially the interior, but it would’ve been a true Cadillac’s Cadillac at a time when the brand really needed such a flagship. Now, 13 years later, Cadillac is still in need of such a flagship for the brand to rally behind.

The Sixteen Concept is a wonderful embodiment of both the best and the worst of General Motors. They can make a wonderful, cutting edge car, but then their management all too often winds up getting in the way, and ruining all the fun.

Enjoy the photos of what could’ve been the most proper of Cadillacs.

-Nick Walker