1959 Lincoln Continental 4-Door Landau

7,044cc OHV V8 Engine
Single 4-Barrel Carburetor
350hp at 4,400rpm
3-Speed Automatic Transmission
Independent Front Suspension - Live Rear Axle
4-Wheel Drum Brakes

*Well-preserved car, garage-kept in the dryness of Rancho Mirage, CA
*16.4ft of elegant and majestic design
*1950s luxury
*Attractive Sapphire color

THE LINCOLN CONTINENTAL

The products of Ford-owned Lincoln have for years rivalled those of General Motors' Cadillac division in their exclusivity and luxury, in particular the range-topping Continental. Nowadays synonymous with Lincoln, the 'Continental' model name was first used in 1940 for Bob Gregorie's masterly styling exercise on the existing V12 Zephyr chassis. A sportier, top-of-the-range companion to the Zephyr, the Continental had started out as a personal, custom-bodied one-off commissioned by Lincoln boss Edsel Ford, and would be hailed as a classic of automotive design by authorities as diverse as the Museum of Modern Art and the Classic Car Club of America. The demise of the V12 engine at the end of the 1948 season meant that there would be no more Continentals for seven years, but when it did return the new Continental caused just as much of a sensation as the original. Premiered at the Paris Salon in October 1955, the Continental MkII was a sublimely styled hardtop coupe created by a team that included Gordon Buehrig, William Clay Ford and John Reinhart. Priced close to the then breathtaking $10,000 mark, the Continental MkII was necessarily a most exclusive automobile. Nevertheless, Ford is reputed to have lost around $1,000 on every MkII sold, an unsustainable situation that prompted the introduction of the heavily revised and considerably cheaper MkIII for 1958. Changes to the successor MkIV were mainly confined to external styling details, the most obvious of which was a reverse slant rear window. Lincoln's 430ci (7,049cc) overhead-valve V8 engine continued to power the Continental range, its 350bhp more than sufficient to propel these huge cars well past 100mph.

THE MOTORCAR OFFERED

Sporting a nice Sapphire color, the Continental offered here is a 4-door Landau body type – code 75A – that was part of Mr. Williams' collection for the past few years. Staying at one of his houses located in Rancho Mirage, CA, the car was sporadically used over weekend trips and holidays. Having previously received a restoration and paint respray, the vehicle shows some signs of aging, yet the car still presents nicely in a condition manifesting the care given to the car under its ownership. It should be noted that the car has remained static for a few months now, thus recommissioning and safety checks would have to be made before cruising again behind the wheel of this beauty.